Texas intends to fight a judge’s ruling that the state can’t ban adults under 21 from carrying handguns.

This move is drawing anger from a number of gun rights groups.

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office just last week filed a notice of an appeal of the ruling on behalf of the Texas Department of Public Safety. This comes about a month after U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman said the Constitution didn’t put an age restriction on the right to bear arms, meaning adults 18 to 20 shouldn’t be prevented from carrying handguns outside the home.

Pittman wrote...“The issue is whether prohibiting law-abiding 18-to-20-year-olds from carrying a handgun in public for self-defense is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” Pittman wrote. “Based on the Second Amendment’s text, as informed by Founding-Era history and tradition, the Court concludes that the Second Amendment protects against this prohibition.”

There are a number of individuals, some being government officials, some representing gun rights, and many are just concerned citizens of Texas.

In a news release, Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights said...“Once again, government officials in the state of Texas are proven to be anti-gun stooges.” Brown went on to say “Deep down, DPS knows that their appeal is unconstitutional and immoral, and we are confident that the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court will tell them to take a hike.”

In August, Gov. Greg Abbott said it would be unconstitutional to raise the minimum age to buy assault-style rifles from 18 to 21.

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, called the judge's decision “another example of a radical court operating wildly out of step with the American people and the Constitution.”

Texas has experienced several high-profile mass shootings in the past half-decade, including massacres in Sutherland Springs, El Paso, Uvalde and other communities that have left dozens of people dead and many concerns from both sides are being made known.

The decision won’t take effect immediately. The judge issued a 30-day stay pending appeal, saying there’s a possibility that a higher court would rule differently.

Get the full story in the Texas Tribune.

One thing is for sure. There is no shortage of opinions about this situation.

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