Last updated October 2026 · By Nick Hall, who has covered the under-21 gun cases in Massachusetts federal and state courts
Quick take: Massachusetts’ highest court has upheld the rule that you must be 21 to get a license to carry a gun. In Commonwealth v. Thomson, decided October 20, it held the age limit fits the nation’s history of keeping young people’s guns under adult supervision, with two of seven justices dissenting in part.
- Ruling: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a 20-year-old’s conviction for carrying a loaded 9mm handgun without a license.
- The law: Massachusetts does not let anyone under 21 get a license to carry, and the court held that rule constitutional on its face.
- The split: Justice Kafker, joined by Justice Wendlandt, dissented in part and wanted more briefing and expert history first.
- What is left: 18 to 20 year olds in Massachusetts can still get an FID card for non-large-capacity rifles and shotguns.
Courts across the country have been arguing over whether 18 to 20 year olds have full Second Amendment rights. Massachusetts’ top court has now given its answer for the state, and it is the answer gun owners there feared.
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Table of Contents
What the SJC Decided
The case is Commonwealth v. Thomson, SJC-13856, argued March 2 and decided October 20, 2026. Justice Wolohojian wrote for the court.
The facts are not sympathetic. Police stopped a car in December 2021, and the defendant, then 20, pushed an officer, ran, and “discarded a loaded nine millimeter semiautomatic handgun.” He was convicted of carrying a firearm without a license and argued on appeal that the age limit violates the Second Amendment.
The court disagreed: “Because restriction of firearm possession by those deemed too young to handle them safely outside of supervised settings is consistent with the nation’s regulatory tradition, we affirm.”
How the Court Got There
The court did not decide whether people under 21 are part of “the people” the Second Amendment protects. It noted that question “has been a matter of disagreement” among courts and assumed, without deciding, that the defendant counts.
It then went to history. Its central conclusion is that the age-21 rule matches “the historical requirement that parents or other responsible adults be involved in supplying arms to those under twenty-one, who otherwise were not able to obtain firearms on their own, for use within the supervised setting of the militia.”
In plain terms, the court says young people at the founding got guns through parents or militia service, under adult control, and that Massachusetts’ licensing scheme does the same thing in modern form.
Why He Could Not Challenge It as Applied
The defendant never applied for a license. Under Massachusetts precedent, that kills an as-applied challenge, because standing for one “requires having applied for (and been denied) a license or [firearm identification (FID)] card.”
He could still bring a facial challenge, arguing the law is unconstitutional for everyone it covers, and the court took that up. It lost on the merits.
The practical lesson for anyone thinking about a challenge of their own: apply first. A denial on paper is what opens the door to an as-applied case.
The Partial Dissent
Justice Kafker, joined by Justice Wendlandt, agreed the defendant could bring a facial challenge but objected to how the majority did the history. “I believe further briefing and expert historical analysis are required to draw the appropriate analogy reliably and correctly,” he wrote.
His sharpest line was about fairness: “the first time the defendant will see much of the history undergirding the court’s legal conclusion will be when the court’s opinion issues.” He would have sent the case back so the defendant could respond.
What 18 to 20 Year Olds Can Still Do in Massachusetts
This ruling is about the license to carry. It does not touch the FID card. The opinion notes that a young person at least 15 years old who is not otherwise prohibited “is entitled to an FID card,” with a parent’s certificate until 18, and that an FID card lets its holder “possess a nonlarge capacity rifle or shotgun.”
Handgun carry is the line, and the SJC has now held it for the state. Earlier this year a federal judge upheld the state’s under-21 rules in a separate case, covered in our report on the Massachusetts under-21 ban ruling. Our Massachusetts gun laws guide has the full licensing rules.
Nationally, the fight is far from over. The SJC itself cited federal appeals cases on both sides, and the Justice Department has taken its own position on handgun sales to 18 to 20 year olds. For a 20-year-old in Boston, though, today’s answer is simple. No license to carry until 21.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get a license to carry in Massachusetts under 21?
No. Massachusetts law does not let anyone under 21 obtain a license to carry, and the Supreme Judicial Court upheld that age limit in Commonwealth v. Thomson on October 20, 2026.
What did the court decide in Commonwealth v. Thomson?
It affirmed a 20-year-old's conviction for carrying a firearm without a license and held that the age-21 license to carry rule is consistent with the nation's tradition of supervising young people's access to firearms.
Did any justices dissent in Commonwealth v. Thomson?
Yes. Justice Kafker, joined by Justice Wendlandt, concurred in part and dissented in part. He agreed a facial challenge could be brought but said further briefing and expert historical analysis were needed.
Can an 18 to 20 year old own a gun in Massachusetts?
Yes, with an FID card. The opinion notes that a person at least 15 who is not otherwise prohibited is entitled to an FID card, which allows possession of non-large-capacity rifles and shotguns. Carrying a handgun requires a license to carry, which starts at 21.
Why did the defendant lose his as-applied challenge?
Because he never applied for a license. Massachusetts courts require a person to have applied for and been denied a license or FID card before bringing an as-applied challenge. He could still raise a facial challenge, which the court rejected.
Does this ruling apply outside Massachusetts?
No. It is a decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Massachusetts law and binds Massachusetts courts. Federal appeals courts have reached different answers on gun rights for people under 21.
Related Reading
- Judge Upholds Massachusetts Under-21 Gun Ban
- Massachusetts Gun Laws
- DOJ on Handgun Sales to 18 to 20 Year Olds
- DOJ Moves to Moot the Under-21 Handgun Case
- Louisiana 18 to 20 Carry Permit Lawsuit
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