Gun rights groups ask Fifth Circuit to strike 1968 interstate handgun ban

Gun-rights advocates have filed a brief with a three-judge Fifth Circuit panel seeking to overturn federal statutes from 1968 that prohibit direct out-of-state handgun purchases, requiring buyers to use a dealer in their home state. Attorney Pete Patterson, representing the Firearms Policy Coalition, a firearms dealer and two private purchasers, claims the restriction fails the Bruen historical-tradition test for Second Amendment limits.

Justice Department attorney Laura Myron explained that Congress enacted the rule to prevent individuals from sidestepping state and local gun controls. A 2025 ruling by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman had previously upheld the law, characterizing it as a commercial regulation rather than a possession ban. The appellate panel, composed of Judges Catharina Haynes, Jerry Smith and Kurt Engelhardt, will consider whether the statute imposes more than a minimal burden on interstate gun buyers.