Last updated September 2026 · By Nick Hall, read the full Fifth Circuit opinion and dissent in Elite Precision Customs v. ATF
Quick take: A divided Fifth Circuit panel ruled on September 18 that the federal ban on buying a handgun directly from a dealer in another state violates the Second Amendment. The decision reaches only Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and it isn’t final yet.
- Ruling: The court reversed a Texas federal judge and rendered judgment for the plaintiffs, holding that three provisions of 18 U.S.C. 922 that together ban interstate handgun sales are unconstitutional.
- Court: A Fifth Circuit panel of Judges Smith, Haynes and Engelhardt voted 2-1, with Judge Jerry E. Smith writing and Judge Haynes dissenting.
- Why it matters: Out-of-state handgun buyers must route every purchase through a second dealer at home, and one plaintiff says that costs him $30 to $40 plus a delay.
- What’s next: The government has 45 days to seek rehearing, and the Second Circuit upheld the same ban in 2025.
If you’ve ever found the right pistol at the right price three states away, you know the drill. Buy it, ship it to a dealer at home, pay the transfer fee, wait. The Fifth Circuit just said the law behind that drill is unconstitutional. We pulled the opinion so you don’t have to, and nothing changes at your local counter this week.
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Table of Contents
What the Fifth Circuit Struck in Elite Precision Customs v. ATF
The opinion in Elite Precision Customs v. ATF, case 25-11206, targets three parts of the Gun Control Act that the court calls, together, the Nonresident Handgun Purchase Ban.
Section 922(a)(3) bars an unlicensed person from bringing home a gun bought outside his state of residence. Section 922(a)(5) bars unlicensed people from selling or giving guns to residents of other states. Section 922(b)(3) bars licensed dealers from selling to anyone who does not live in the dealer’s state, with carve-outs for in-person rifle and shotgun sales that comply with both states’ laws and for temporary rentals.
Rifles and shotguns got that in-person exception. Handguns never did. The result, in the court’s words, is that the provisions "categorically outlaw all direct sales of handguns in interstate commerce." An ATF regulation that tracks the ban was also challenged, but the court said it adds nothing of substance and didn’t address it separately.
Who Sued and What They Won
The plaintiffs are Elite Precision Customs, a Texas licensed manufacturer and dealer that says it would sell handguns straight to out-of-state buyers, plus Freddie Blish of Arizona, Tim Herron of New Mexico, and the Firearms Policy Coalition, which counts all three as members.
Herron’s sworn statement is the one gun buyers will recognize. He has bought handguns from out-of-state dealers by paying a home-state dealer $30 to $40 to handle the transfer, and the process delays when he gets the gun. If you’ve checked FFL transfer fees by state, you know that math.
The district court in the Northern District of Texas sided with the government and dismissed the case. The Fifth Circuit reversed, and instead of sending it back for more history briefing, decided the Bruen step two question itself because both sides had fully briefed it. The last line of the majority: "The judgment of dismissal is REVERSED, and judgment is RENDERED for the plaintiffs."
What the opinion does not do is spell out an injunction. It renders judgment for these four plaintiffs and stops there, without saying who else the ruling protects or how far any order reaches.
Why the Majority Said the Transfer Workaround Doesn’t Save the Ban
The government’s best argument was that nobody is actually blocked: ship the gun to a dealer at home and pay the fee. Judge Smith rejected that on two grounds.
First, the court relied on its own 2025 Reese decision, which struck down the federal ban on dealer handgun sales to 18 to 20 year olds even though those buyers could still get rifles, shotguns, gifts and private-sale handguns. A purchase ban does not have to be airtight to count as a purchase ban.
Second, the fee. The workaround "vests full veto power over interstate handgun sales in a group of third parties financially dependent on the government’s licensing regime," and it always costs money on top of the gun. Citing the Supreme Court case that struck down a $1.50 poll tax, the court wrote: "We must pause before endorsing a cost attached to the exercise of a fundamental constitutional right."
The government also pointed to McRorey, the Fifth Circuit’s 2024 decision upholding the extended background check for buyers under 21. The panel said that rule was a waiting period capped at 10 business days, while there is "no amount of time an individual can wait" to buy a handgun directly from a dealer in another state.
At step two, the government offered 18 colonial and early state laws, from a 1642 Connecticut ban on selling guns outside the colony to an 1815 Illinois law barring sales to Indians. The court sorted them into wartime defense measures, rules for trade with foreign sovereigns and tribes, and early consumer protection inspection laws, and it found that none of them looks like a peacetime ban on sales between the states of a single country.
The Dissent and the Second Circuit Split
Judge Haynes’ dissent runs three sentences. She agreed with the district court that the provisions "are not unconstitutional under the Second Amendment" and would have affirmed.
The bigger problem for the government sits in New York. The Second Circuit upheld the same ban in the Vereen case in 2025, and the Supreme Court denied review there in 2026.
Judge Smith wrote that the Second Circuit’s analysis "stretches the historical record far beyond what it can actually bear." That’s a clean circuit split on a federal statute, and those are the cases the Supreme Court exists to settle.
What Happens Next for Out-of-State Handgun Buyers
Nothing changes at the counter this week. Because the United States is a party, Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 40 gives the government 45 days from the September 18 judgment to ask for rehearing. The mandate that makes the judgment effective issues 7 days after that window closes, unless the court changes the timing.
The government can ask the full Fifth Circuit to rehear the case, or it can file a cert petition with the Supreme Court. Which way it goes is the government’s call.
Even if the ruling holds, it binds federal courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi only. Everywhere else, buyers and dealers are still under 922(a)(3), (a)(5) and (b)(3) exactly as before. For now the legal path is the one you already know, covered in our guide to buying a gun online and shipping it to a local dealer.
Two things we don’t get often in Second Amendment litigation: a clean statutory target and a real circuit split. This case has both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I buy a handgun directly from a dealer in another state now?
Not yet. The Fifth Circuit ruling is not final, it binds only federal courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and it renders judgment for four named plaintiffs. Everywhere else the federal ban on interstate handgun sales applies as before.
Which federal laws did the Fifth Circuit strike down?
It held unconstitutional 18 U.S.C. 922(a)(3), 922(a)(5) and 922(b)(3), which together bar direct handgun sales across state lines. The court called them the Nonresident Handgun Purchase Ban.
Which states does the Fifth Circuit ruling cover?
The Fifth Circuit hears federal appeals from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, so its precedent binds federal courts in those three states. Courts in other circuits are not bound by it.
How do out-of-state handgun purchases work today?
You buy the handgun from the out-of-state dealer, who ships it to a licensed dealer in your home state. That dealer runs the background check and hands it over, and most charge a transfer fee.
Can I buy a rifle or shotgun from a dealer in another state?
Yes. Federal law lets a dealer sell a rifle or shotgun to a nonresident who meets the dealer in person, as long as the sale complies with the laws of both states. Handguns have never had that exception.
Is the Fifth Circuit decision final?
No. The government has 45 days from the September 18, 2026 judgment to seek rehearing, and it can petition the Supreme Court. The judgment takes effect only when the court issues its mandate.
What did the dissenting judge say?
Judge Haynes agreed with the district court that the provisions are not unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and would have affirmed the dismissal.
Have other courts upheld the interstate handgun ban?
Yes. The Second Circuit upheld it in 2025, and the Supreme Court declined to review that case in 2026. The Fifth Circuit expressly rejected the Second Circuit's reasoning, creating a split.
Related Reading
- USPS Will Mail Handguns Again. Here Is What Changed.
- ATF Proposes Direct-to-Door Firearm Shipping
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