Restriction on Handgun Sales to Out-of-State Residents Violates Second Amendment

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Volokh, E. (2026, September 18). Restriction on Handgun Sales to Out-of-State Residents Violates Second Amendment. Reason. https://reason.com/volokh/2026/09/18/restriction-on-handgun-sales-to-out-of-state-residents-violates-second-amendment-fifth-circuit-holds/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Reason · collected 2026-09-18 · by Eugene Volokh

Quick Summary

In a recent ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Jerry Smith and Judge Kurt Engelhardt ruled that a federal ban restricting out-of-state residents from purchasing handguns violates the Second Amendment. The decision, which overturns previous court opinions, emphasizes that placing additional fees on handgun purchases is an undue infringement on constitutional rights. Judge Catharina Haynes dissented from this ruling, supporting the district court’s original decision to uphold the law.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In Elite Precision Customs L.L.C. v. BATFE, Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith ruled alongside Judge Kurt Engelhardt that a federal ban restricting handgun sales to out-of-state residents violates the Second Amendment. The court rejected arguments that such restrictions are minor and still allow ample access, citing prior cases like Mance v. Sessions. The decision asserts that even small costs attached to exercising constitutional rights must be scrutinized carefully. The judges emphasized that the licensing regime places financial burdens on individuals seeking to exercise their right to bear arms across state lines, undermining the Second Amendment's protections. This ruling is seen as a significant step in expanding gun rights interpretations following Bruen and its subsequent cases.

Written for “Gun Control Lawsuit” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Gun Control Lawsuit
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 14% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Reason
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 2 of 38 claims Outlet record 67/100
“Article A discusses en banc rehearings in cases challenging felon gun bans, while Article B mentions a decision about restricting handgun sales to out-of-state residents.”
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses a DOJ legal opinion on a federal law banning handgun sales to young adults under 21, while Article B refers to a court decision by the Fifth Circuit Judge regarding restrictions on out-of-state residents.”
The Hindu
Hedges 2 of 12 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different bans: one restricts out-of-state handgun sales, while the other prohibits licensed dealers from selling handguns to young adults under 21.”
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses a DOJ legal opinion regarding handgun sales to individuals aged 18-20, while Article B refers to a court decision by Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith on restrictions for out-of-state residents.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of firearms legislation and do not refer to the exact same legal ruling or ban.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
7
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
14%
1 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
67/100
Reason's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Reason · 1015 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Eugene Volokh
167 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Topics

Ban Ban's Elite Precision Customs L.L.C. Fifth Circuit Judge Second Amendment

Subjects

BATFE PERSON · 1× Bruen PERSON · 1× Catharina Haynes PERSON · 1× David H. Thompson PERSON · 1× Elite Precision Customs L.L.C. ORG · 1× Fifth Circuit Judge ORG · 1× Jerry Smith PERSON · 1× Kurt Engelhardt PERSON · 1× Mance PERSON · 1× Sessions PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent So held Elite Precision Customs L.L.C. v. BATFE, decided today by Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, joined by Kurt Engelhardt; a very short excerpt of the reasoning, but you can see the opinion for a lot more: It is no defense of the Ban's constitutionality to theorize that it is only a minor infringement of Second Amendment rights that still "allow[s] ample access to handguns by those who are permitted to possess and purchase them under state and local laws." Mance v. Sessions (5th Cir. 2018) (rejecting a pre-Bruen challenge to the Ban)….
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 To the extent that prior decisions from this court hint there is an acceptable cost that may be imposed on the basic exercise of Second Amendment rights, they are abrogated by Bruen and its progeny.

Claims (7 extracted, 1 hedged)

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent So held Elite Precision Customs L.L.C. v. BATFE, decided today by Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, joined by Kurt Engelhardt; a very short excerpt of the reasoning, but you can see the opinion for a lot more: It is no defense of the Ban's constitutionality to theorize that it is only a minor infringement of Second Amendment rights that still "allow[s] ample access to handguns by those who are permitted to possess and purchase them under state and local laws." Mance v. Sessions (5th Cir. 2018) (rejecting a pre-Bruen challenge to the Ban)…. asserted
who → hold → Ban
Even to the extent that the Ban can be circumvented by the licensee-to-licensee transfer workaround (which vests full veto power over interstate handgun sales in a group of third parties financially dependent on the government's licensing regime), the Ban invariably calls for the payment of a fee over and above the cost of a handgun. asserted
Ban → circumvent → handgun
We must pause before endorsing a cost attached to the exercise of a fundamental constitutional right. asserted
We → pause → right
To the extent that prior decisions from this court hint there is an acceptable cost that may be imposed on the basic exercise of Second Amendment rights, they are abrogated by Bruen and its progeny. uncertain
they → hint → Bruen
Judge Catharina Haynes dissented, stating she agreed with the district court's decision upholding the law. asserted
she → dissent → law
David H. Thompson, Peter A. Patterson, and William V. Bergstrom (Cooper & Kirk, PLLC) and Cody J. Wisniewski (FPC Action Foundation) represent plaintiffs. asserted
Thompson → represent → plaintiffs
Note that the Firearms Policy Coalition has in the past retained me to file some amicus briefs on their behalf, but I was not at all involved in this particular case. asserted
I → note → case
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