The right to purchase firearms across state lines is a necessary component of the Second Amendment, a three-judge panel ruled on Sept. 18. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals determined in a 2-1 vote that the federal ban on direct interstate handgun sales is unconstitutional, finding the government's historical analogues too dissimilar to justify a categorical prohibition.

The Firearm Policy Coalition won the legal challenge, which argued that the right to keep arms must include the right to acquire them. The court's decision invalidates the federal government's restriction on direct transfers of handguns between individuals in different states.