Six cards on guns and kids: federal under-18 handgun rule, dealer age limits, under-21 background checks, state child access laws, teaching young children and training older kids.

Guns & Kids

Educational information, not legal advice. Gun laws change often and vary by state, county and city. Check current law where you are and talk to a firearms attorney before acting. Full disclaimer

Last reviewed October 31, 2026

Guns & Kids: Where It Stands in 2026

Teaching children about firearms is one of the most important jobs a gun-owning family has. Generations of Americans learned to shoot from a parent or grandparent, through 4-H, Scouting or hunter education, and that tradition of supervised, responsible youth shooting remains a core part of the right to keep and bear arms. The goal is simple: children who respect firearms and know what to do if they find one unsupervised.

Six cards on guns and kids: federal under-18 handgun rule, dealer age limits, under-21 background checks, state child access laws, teaching young children and training older kids.

The law surrounding guns and kids comes from two directions. Federal law sets age limits on buying and possessing firearms. State law decides whether an adult can be prosecuted when a child gets access to a gun. As of May 2026, Everytown’s count lists 26 states with some form of child access prevention or secure storage law, though definitions vary and other trackers count differently. These laws range from narrow “reckless access” statutes to broad mandates that dictate how every gun in a home must be stored, which gun-rights advocates argue can conflict with a family’s ability to reach a firearm quickly for self-defense under District of Columbia v. Heller (2008).

Age limits for young adults are being fought out in the courts. In Reese v. ATF (2025), the Fifth Circuit held the federal ban on dealer handgun sales to 18-to-20-year-olds unconstitutional, and the Justice Department chose not to appeal. On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court declined to take up a Fourth Circuit case that upheld the same ban, so the result depends on where a buyer lives.

Key Facts

  • Federal law generally bars anyone under 18 from possessing a handgun, with exceptions for supervised activities such as target shooting, hunting, ranching and safety courses (18 U.S.C. 922(x)).
  • Licensed dealers may not sell handguns to buyers under 21 or long guns to buyers under 18 (18 U.S.C. 922(b)(1)). The Fifth Circuit (Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas) struck down the under-21 handgun limit in Reese v. ATF (January 2025).
  • Since the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (June 25, 2022), NICS checks for buyers under 21 include a review of juvenile records and can take up to 10 business days.
  • Dealers must offer a secure storage or safety device with every handgun transfer (18 U.S.C. 922(z), added in 2005).
  • June 30, 2026: the Supreme Court declined to hear challenges to the federal under-21 handgun purchase ban and to Florida’s under-21 purchase law.
  • 2024: CDC data show 119 firearm deaths among children ages 1 to 4 and 98 among ages 5 to 9, out of 44,447 total firearm deaths (Johns Hopkins analysis, July 2026).

What Gun Owners Should Know

  • Check your state’s child access law. Some states impose liability only if a child is hurt; others make access alone a crime.
  • Keep firearms you are not carrying locked or under direct control when children live in or visit the home; see Gun Storage.
  • Teach young children the Eddie Eagle message: “Stop. Don’t Touch. Run Away. Tell a Grown-Up.”
  • Enroll older kids in a state hunter education course or youth marksmanship program; training resources are at After Action.net and firearm knowledge quizzes at Tactical Quiz.com.
  • Review the Firearm Safety rules with every family member who handles a gun.

Across the Gun Websites Network

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