Fifth Circuit Strikes Down 1968 Interstate Handgun Sales Ban as Unconstitutional, Citing Bruen and Creating Circuit Split

On September 18, 2026, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled 2-1 that key provisions of the Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibiting direct interstate sales of handguns by licensed dealers to out-of-state buyers violate the Second Amendment. The decision in Elite Precision Customs LLC v. ATF reverses a Texas district court's dismissal and renders judgment for the plaintiffs, including a Texas firearms dealer, out-of-state customers, and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC). Circuit Judge Jerry E. Smith, writing for the majority, held that the ban 'sullies the plain text of the Second Amendment' and lacks consistency with the nation's historical tradition of firearms regulation under the Bruen framework established by the Supreme Court in 2022. The court emphasized that the right to keep and bear arms necessarily includes the right to acquire them, rejecting the government's characterization of the restrictions as mere commercial regulations. It also dismissed historical analogues from the colonial era as insufficiently similar to justify the categorical prohibition, noting they addressed different concerns like preventing evasion of local laws during wartime or unrest rather than peacetime commercial transfers. Judge Catharina Haynes dissented, aligning with the district court's view that the provisions remain constitutional. The ruling creates a circuit split with the Second Circuit's 2025 decision in United States v. Vereen upholding a similar challenge. It builds directly on the Fifth Circuit's earlier precedent in Reese v. ATF (2025), which struck down federal handgun purchase restrictions for adults under 21. Plaintiffs argued the law forces unnecessary FFL-to-FFL transfers, adding fees, delays, and dealer veto power, disproportionately burdening handgun buyers compared to long guns. FPC President Brandon Combs described it as 'a massive victory for the People and another major defeat for the federal government's unconstitutional gun-control regime.' The case, filed in January 2025, highlights tensions between federal uniformity and state variations in firearm laws, with potential implications for broader challenges to interstate commerce regulations on arms. The government has 60 days to seek Supreme Court review, though enforcement effects may be limited pending further litigation.