Blockbuster 2A Win, As Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Fed Ban on Interstate Handgun Sales

A major win for the Second Amendment happened with a court ruling released on Friday. 

It comes just weeks after another court struck down a major part of the National Firearms Act (NFA) involving suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns, as we previously wrote.

The big news out of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday involves Elite Precision Customs v. ATF, and comes via SCOTUS Wire, who shared it as part of a thread with some analysis after the story broke:

BREAKING: In a 2-1 vote, the Fifth Circuit ruled that the federal ban on direct interstate handgun sales violates the Second Amendment. pic.twitter.com/LT1WW93W7u

— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) September 18, 2026

They wrote: 

The majority said the ban implicates the Second Amendment because the right to keep arms necessarily includes the right to purchase them. It then found the government’s historical analogues too dissimilar to justify a categorical ban on direct interstate handgun sales.

SCOTUS Watch continued, sharing the dissent:

Judge Haynes issued a three-sentence dissent, saying she agreed with the district court that the challenged provisions “are not unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.” She said that was “all that is in play in this case” and would have affirmed.

In a statement by Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), the nonprofit which represented Elite Precision Customs and its co-defendants, the group claimed "a major victory."

FPC VICTORY: Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Federal Interstate Handgun Purchase Ban https://t.co/8vb2Ymm8vY

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) September 18, 2026

Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today a major victory in Elite Precision Customs v. ATF, with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit holding that the federal government’s ban on direct interstate handgun purchases violates the Second Amendment. The Court reversed the lower court’s dismissal of the case and rendered judgment for FPC and its co-plaintiffs.

...

The federal laws challenged by FPC categorically prohibit people from directly purchasing handguns from licensed dealers outside their state of residence. While federal law provides exceptions for interstate rifle and shotgun purchases, handgun buyers are instead forced to arrange an additional transfer through a licensed dealer in their home state—a process that depends on another dealer agreeing to participate and typically imposes additional fees and delays.

The Fifth Circuit’s conclusion was unequivocal: “The Ban sullies the plain text of the Second Amendment and is inconsistent with the nation’s tradition of firearms regulation.” The Court reversed the district court and rendered judgment for FPC and the other plaintiffs.

FPC President Brandon Combs called the decision by the Fifth Circuit "a massive victory for the People and another major defeat for the federal government’s unconstitutional gun-control regime."

He continued: 

"Your right to keep and bear arms does not stop at your state line, and the government cannot make you pay a penalty just to exercise it. The Fifth Circuit got it exactly right: this is a purchase ban, it is presumptively unconstitutional, and the government failed to justify it. We told the federal government we were coming for this ban, and today we beat them."

“This is what it looks like to Fight Forward," Combs added. "This is how we win — case by case, precedent by precedent, taking away the government’s tools for violating the People’s rights. We and our FPC Grassroots Army will keep stacking victories until every one of these immoral and unconstitutional restrictions is eliminated."

Readers will not be surprised to hear that this is likely not the end of the legal activity, since as SCOTUS Wire noted, today's ruling "splits from the Second [Circuit's ruling]." Stay tuned.

You can read the full ruling from the Fifth Circuit here.

Editor's Note: Unelected federal judges are obstructing President Trump's agenda and ignoring the will of the people.

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