Fifth Circuit reverses ruling on interstate handgun sales ban

A three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a district court decision regarding the federal prohibition on interstate handgun sales. The panel sided with the Firearms Policy Coalition, Elite Precision Customs LLC, and two individual plaintiffs, ruling that the right to keep and bear arms encompasses the right to acquire a firearm.

The court rejected the government's argument that the ban was a permissible regulation of firearm sales. While the Department of Justice presented various colonial and state laws from between 1642 and 1821 to justify the restriction, the panel found these historical analogues—often related to wartime exigencies or regulating commerce with foreign sovereigns—did not sufficiently justify the modern regulation.