The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit applied the Supreme Court’s “historical tradition” test.

A conservative federal appeals court said Thursday that a federal law banning the sale of handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds is unconstitutional, elevating a significant question about the Second Amendment’s reach in the wake of recent major Supreme Court rulings on gun rights.

A conservative appeals court ruled that the law, which barred the sale of firearms to adults under 21, was inconsistent with the Second Amendment.

A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a longstanding federal ban that prevented the sale of handguns to Americans between the ages of 18 and 20 — a landmark gun control regulation in place since 1968.

In its ruling, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the law passed by Congress in 1968 banning handgun sales by licensed dealers to adults under the age of 21 violated the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.