GOA and Missouri Sue Jackson County Over Gun Ban for Young Adults
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Gun Owners of America (GOA), alongside Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) and together with the State of Missouri represented by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, has filed a major federal lawsuit against Jackson County, Missouri for enacting a sweeping gun control ordinance that strips 18-to-20-year-old adults of their right to keep and bear arms.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the lawsuit challenges Jackson County Ordinance No. 5865, which criminalizes handgun purchases by adults under 21 and bans those aged 18–20 from possessing undefined “semiautomatic assault rifles”—violations punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The complaint contends that the ordinance violates the Second and Fourteenth Amendments and directly defies Missouri’s firearm preemption statute, which expressly prohibits local governments from passing stricter gun laws than the state.
In addition to GOA, GOF, and Missouri, plaintiffs include an 18-year-old Missouri resident who is now barred by county law from making a lawful handgun purchase or owning a standard semiautomatic rifle like an AR-15—despite having no criminal record and being fully permitted to do so under state and federal law.
The lawsuit argues the ordinance is unconstitutionally vague, dangerously subjective, and was deliberately crafted to challenge Missouri’s preemption law. In fact, County officials themselves admitted they passed the ordinance knowing it violated state law and expected legal challenge.
Sam Paredes, on behalf of Gun Owners Foundation, issued the following statement:
“Jackson County’s ordinance is a brazen attempt to nullify the constitutional rights of an entire class of legal adults. These are young Americans who can vote, marry, and serve in the military; but are being told by a local government that they cannot exercise their Second Amendment rights. The Supreme Court has made clear that the right to keep and bear arms belongs to all Americans, which includes adults under the age of 21. GOF is proud to stand with these young citizens and with the State of Missouri in this critical fight for freedom.”
Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement:
“This case is exactly why gun rights supporters fought so hard to pass firearm preemption laws in Missouri—to stop rogue counties like Jackson from trampling on the Constitution. Local bureaucrats have no authority to overrule the Second Amendment or sidestep the Supreme Court’s rulings in Heller, Bruen, and Rahimi. County officials passed this ordinance knowing it was unlawful, hoping for a court fight. Well, they’ve got one now; and we’re confident they will lose.”
GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization representing over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.
-GOA-
