Guns and Texas go together like peanut butter and jelly — but until recently, young adults in Texas weren't allowed to participate. On August 26, 2022, District Court Judge Mark Pittman ruled that a decades-old Texas law which prevented 18 to 20 year olds from carrying handguns was unconstitutional.

Some cheered the decision. Others are skeptical. Either way, the ruling will undoubtedly reshape Texas gun policy in the years to come. Join Young Voices on April 21st for an evening of conversation, beer, and meeting open-minded people like you!

Moderator Derek Cohen will lead a discussion on the future of firearm policy with Cody Wisniewski, senior attorney for constitutional litigation for the Firearms Policy Coalition. A reception will follow the discussion.

You can expect to hear about the importance of this decision, the constitutional and historical underpinnings that made it happen, and why this discrete issue matters for gun rights in Texas and across the United States.

Moderator: Derek Cohen, PhD, is Vice President of Policy and Right on Crime Senior Fellow. Previously a policy director at Right on Crime, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s criminal justice reform initiative, Cohen was instrumental in the passage of the First Step Act, federal legislation that borrowed from successful changes to prisons and sentencing that he had helped pass in conservative states. In addition to leading the Foundation’s work on criminal justice, he is also the lead researcher of firearms policy.

Speaker: Cody J. Wisniewski is a Senior Attorney for Constitutional Litigation with Firearms Policy Coalition, where he focuses on Second Amendment and other constitutional questions. He has litigated cases across the United States addressing a variety of firearm rights issues.