A Philadelphia County man who is over 18 but under 21 has sued Pennsylvania, arguing the state's rule requiring carry-license applicants to be at least 21 years old violates his Second Amendment rights. Daniel Maines says he is eligible for a license in every respect except his age, and that he would carry a concealed handgun immediately for self-defense in Philadelphia and in his vehicle if the law allowed it.
A New Front in Pennsylvania's Carry-Age Fight
The Firearms Policy Coalition announced it filed the case, Maines v. Bethel, on October 29, saying the lawsuit was brought by FPC and the National Rifle Association alongside a member whose right to carry firearms for self-defense is being denied by the Commonwealth. The NRA's advocacy arm, NRA-ILA, confirmed the suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Maines is a member of both organizations, and according to USA Carry, the complaint names Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and Pennsylvania State Police Acting Commissioner Lt. Col. George L. Bivens as defendants.
Under Pennsylvania's statute, 18 Pa.C.S. § 6109(b), only individuals aged 21 or older may apply for a license to carry a concealed firearm, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The same statute directs most residents to apply through their county sheriff, but Philadelphia — classified as a city of the first class with a population of more than 1.5 million — requires residents to apply through the police commissioner instead. The Philadelphia Police Department's own application page limits submissions to people 21 or older, per USA Carry's reporting.
Why Maines Says the Line Matters
Maines has no misdemeanor or felony charges or convictions, according to the complaint as described by USA Carry, and the outlet reports he wants to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense both in the city and in his vehicle. The stakes of going without a license are steep: unlicensed concealed carry or vehicle carry is punishable as a third-degree felony carrying up to seven years in prison, and a firearm conviction would make a person a federally prohibited possessor barred from buying or owning guns going forward, per the same account.
Pennsylvania residents may generally carry firearms openly without a license in most of the state, but that general allowance does not extend to Philadelphia. Under § 6108, a license is required to carry firearms — openly or concealed — on public streets or property within a city of the first class, defined as a municipality of one million or more residents, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly's statute page, which also notes that section was declared unconstitutional as applied in Commonwealth v. Sumpter on June 23, 2025. Separately, § 6106(a) generally bars carrying a firearm in a vehicle without a license, with narrow exceptions — such as travel to a repair shop or firearms training — that require the gun to be locked and unloaded, the outlet reports.
The Legal Theory Behind the Suit
The plaintiffs argue that under the Supreme Court's Bruen framework, publicly carrying a handgun is conduct protected by the Second Amendment, and that Pennsylvania has no historical tradition supporting an age limit on law-abiding adults between 18 and 20, according to USA Carry's account of the filing. They are seeking a declaratory judgment that the age restriction is unconstitutional, a permanent injunction barring enforcement of the under-21 limit in § 6109(b), and an order stopping state police from using the Pennsylvania Instant Check System — which sheriffs and Philadelphia police rely on to run background checks before issuing licenses — to block applications from 18-to-20-year-olds. The Firearms Policy Coalition frames the broader ask as a declaration that adults in that age range have a constitutionally protected right to carry firearms outside the home, along with an injunction against enforcement of the ban.
This is not the first time Pennsylvania's age-based carry restrictions have faced a federal challenge. In Lara v. Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, the plaintiffs — who were themselves 18 to 20 when they sued — argued they had a right to carry firearms outside their homes for lawful purposes, including self-defense, according to the Third Circuit's opinion. The appeals court held that 18-to-20-year-olds are presumptively among the people protected by the Second Amendment in a 2025 decision.
A Pattern Playing Out Across Federal Courts
FPC says it is simultaneously challenging age-based carry bans in Illinois, Georgia, and Louisiana, through cases it identifies as Meyer v. Raoul, Baughcum v. Jackson, and Pool v. Besson. The group also points to a 2024 ruling in which, by its account, the Eighth Circuit found that Minnesota's age-based carry-permit ban violates the Second Amendment.
USA Carry's account of the complaint includes figures the plaintiffs attribute to FBI data: Philadelphia recorded more than 13,000 violent crimes in 2025, accounting for nearly 44% of all violent crime reported statewide that year — a statistic the complaint uses to argue the stakes of self-defense access in the city. The outlet also notes that Pennsylvania has more than 2,900 elementary and secondary schools, and that federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) bans firearm possession within 1,000 feet of a school, subject to exceptions — zones that, per the reporting, are unmarked and stretch across major and minor roads statewide.
No court has yet ruled on the allegations in the complaint, and the defendants will have an opportunity to respond, according to USA Carry, whose reporter said the outlet plans to continue tracking Maines v. Bethel as it proceeds in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
