Have you ever truly taken a moment to consider how absurd it is that a resident of one state cannot purchase a handgun from a licensed firearms dealer in another state, even though the prospective buyer would still need to pass the same federal background check as required in their home state?
I’ve puzzled over this numerous times over the years, mainly because there is absolutely no logic behind such a restriction. Now, the good folks at the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) are taking action on it.
On January 21, the FPC filed a lawsuit, Elite Precision Customs v. ATF, challenging federal laws prohibiting licensed firearm dealers from selling handguns to out-of-state buyers.
“FPC and our courageous co-plaintiffs are proud to take on the federal government and fight forward to bring this evil ban scheme to its end,” FPC President Brandon Combs said in a press release announcing the action. “This important case is part of our broader strategic litigation efforts to eliminate laws that deny the right of peaceable people to exercise their right to acquire, possess, and carry arms while outside their state of residence. Through this case and others, we look forward to eliminating these immoral regulatory schemes once and for all.”
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on behalf of two individual FPC members and firearms retailer Elite Precision Customs, stated: “This lawsuit challenges the federal ban on interstate transfers of handguns from federally licensed dealers to individuals who are otherwise eligible to purchase and possess a handgun for lawful purposes but cannot purchase directly from a dealer because they do not live in the same state as the dealer.”
As the lawsuit explains, under federal law, it is a crime for an individual to “transport into or receive in the State where he resides . . . any firearm purchased or otherwise obtained by such person outside that State,” unless the transfer was by “bequest or intestate succession.” Federal law also bars licensed federal firearms dealers from selling firearms to individuals who do not reside within the state in which a dealer’s place of business is located.
“The only way to purchase a handgun from an out-of-state dealer is to arrange and pay for that dealer to ship the handgun to an in-state dealer, at personal cost and substantial delay, to complete the transfer,” the lawsuit states. “This imposes a hardship on Plaintiffs Herron and Blish, who frequently travel and wish to purchase handguns directly from licensed dealers without having to coordinate transferring them to an FFL in their home states. It also imposes a hardship on customers and prospective customers of Elite Precision, who are sometimes individuals who live outside of Texas and who either have to forego purchases or coordinate a purchase through a middleman FFL in their home state.”
Ultimately, FPC seeks a court declaration that the law is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and requests a permanent injunction against its enforcement.
“The government’s ban preventing firearm dealers from selling handguns to people that reside in other states is unconstitutional,” said Cody J. Wisniewski, president of the FPC Action Foundation. “The ban has no historical support and cannot be justified under Supreme Court precedent. We look forward to demonstrating that in court.”
