A federal appeals court struck down a longtime federal ban that forbade the sale of handguns to teenagers in the U.S.

The ruling Thursday by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals shot down a regulatory ban that had been in place since 1968.

The decision cited a 2022 opinion by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a separate case in New York titled New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.

"Ultimately, the text of the Second Amendment includes eighteen-to-twenty-year-old individuals among 'the people' whose right to keep and bear arms is protected," the court's opinion statement reads.

The issue is ultimately expected to be decided by the Supreme Court.