Fifth Circuit Rules 1968 Interstate Handgun Transfer Ban Unconstitutional

The ruling reverses a district court dismissal and applies the Bruen history-and-tradition test to the commercial restriction. Judge Jerry Smith wrote that colonial and state laws on firearm movement do not support the federal prohibition, while Judge Catharina Haynes dissented on the ground that the provisions remain constitutional commercial rules.

Plaintiffs Elite Precision Customs LLC, Tim Herron, and Freddie Blish challenged the requirement that out-of-state handgun buyers use an in-state dealer intermediary, incurring added fees and delays. The Firearms Policy Coalition joined the suit. The lower court had upheld the 1968 measure as a reasonable limit tied to evasion of state laws.

The decision creates a circuit split on post-Bruen commercial restrictions and is likely to reach the Supreme Court. It does not affect background checks or other dealer obligations but removes the interstate transfer barrier for handguns while rifles and shotguns already face no such limit.

Congress enacted the sales restrictions after finding interstate commerce facilitated circumvention of state gun laws. The Fifth Circuit opinion treats that rationale as insufficient under the current constitutional standard.