Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Federal Court Holds Ban on Interstate Transfer of Handguns Unconstitutional

Friday, February 13, 2015

Federal Court Holds Ban on Interstate Transfer of Handguns Unconstitutional

On Wednesday, Judge Reed O’Conner of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an opinion and order in Mance v. Holder, holding provisions of federal law that generally prohibit the interstate sale of handguns to be unconstitutional.  Subject to very limited exceptions, the challenged federal law prohibited a federally licensed firearms dealer from transferring a handgun, but not a rifle or shotgun, to any non-licensed individual who resided in a state other than the state where the dealer’s business was located. 

The plaintiffs, a husband and wife from the District of Columbia and a Texas firearms dealer, wished to conduct a transfer of a handgun in Texas that the D.C. residents would then take back to their place of residence in D.C.  A significant motivation for the plaintiffs in seeking to buy a handgun outside of their state of residence is the complete lack of a stocking firearms dealer in the District.  There is only a single dealer in D.C. and, due in large part to D.C.'s byzantine regulatory scheme, he does not maintain any inventory. 

After establishing that the plaintiffs had sufficient standing to raise their claim, the court began its analysis of whether the interstate transfer ban violated the Second Amendment.  First, the court determined that it would evaluate the ban “facially” and as applied to the plaintiffs specific situation.  A successful facial challenge completely prohibits the enforcement of the challenged law, while a successful as-applied challenge only stops the government from enforcing the law against the plaintiff and those similarly situated.  Next, the court applied the two-step analytical framework adopted by the Fifth Circuit in National Rifle Association v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Under this framework, the reviewing court must first determine whether the challenged law regulates conduct that falls within the scope of the Second Amendment and only then does the court determine the applicable level of judicial scrutiny and whether or not the law survives this level of scrutiny.

In the case of the interstate handgun transfer ban, the first step of the analysis was relatively easy for the court because the government could not offer evidence of any pre-20th century residency requirements for firearm acquisition and the ban applied specifically to handguns, a class of “arm” that the Supreme Court already clearly identified as being protected by the Second Amendment in District of Columbia v. Heller.  For these reasons, and because the ban generally applied to everyone who wished to acquire a handgun rather than a limited subset of the population or a small subset of “arms”, the court applied the highest level of judicial scrutiny at its disposal.

Having determined the applicable level of scrutiny, the court then evaluated the government’s supposed justification for the ban.  The government primarily argued that the ban was justified by Congress’s wish to reduce violent crime involving handguns.  It also advanced the theory that the Second Amendment does not protect the right of individuals to sell firearms.  The court essentially dismissed the latter argument entirely and focused on the crime-reduction justification.  While the court found that the ban was indeed supported by a compelling governmental interest, the court determined that it was neither sufficiently narrowly tailored  or the least restrictive means of meeting this goal  because government’s justification completely ignored intervening changes to federal law since the ban’s enactment.  The court reasoned that the requirement that federally licensed dealers conduct a background check on any potential transferee, taken with the prohibition on dealers transferring a firearm to an individual that would violate that laws of the individual’s state of residence, ruled out any justification for the ban on interstate handgun transfers.  In fact, the court found that so little justification existed for the ban given the more recent additions to federal gun law, that the ban would not survive even a lower level of scrutiny. 

Interestingly, the ban that the executive branch vigorously defended in this case would have been repealed by a proposal that President Obama supported in 2013.  The court’s opinion in this case also shows the value of strict scrutiny when applied to gun-control laws, which is why NRA has supported measures in a number of states to require strict scrutiny in any case reviewing a law that burdens the right to keep and bear arms.  While the government has not yet signaled its intent to appeal, it is likely that the decision will be appealed to the Fifth Circuit. In the meantime, the government may seek to have the effect of the decision delayed pending the appeal.

To keep up-to-date on this and other court battles to protect and advance the Second Amendment, go to https://www.nraila.org/legal-legislation/legal-updates/

TRENDING NOW
Federal Judge in Colorado Insists There is No Second Amendment Right to Buy a Gun

News  

Monday, November 20, 2023

Federal Judge in Colorado Insists There is No Second Amendment Right to Buy a Gun

Honest people can disagree with the Founders’ decision to enshrine the Second Amendment within the Bill of Rights. They cannot, however, pretend that decision never happened. For much of the 20th Century, however, gun control activists ...

Following Terrorist Attack, Israel Relaxes Gun Laws and Arms Civilians

News  

Monday, October 16, 2023

Following Terrorist Attack, Israel Relaxes Gun Laws and Arms Civilians

Following an unprecedented terrorist attack on civilians that indiscriminately targeted even the elderly, women, and children, Israel has loosened its gun laws and is distributing firearms to civilians. As of press time, the number of victims killed in ...

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Requirement in NRA-Backed Case.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Strikes Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Requirement in NRA-Backed Case.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License (“HQL”) requirement is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. 

Seventh Circuit Strains to Uphold Illinois’ Gun and Magazine Ban

News  

Monday, November 13, 2023

Seventh Circuit Strains to Uphold Illinois’ Gun and Magazine Ban

At this point, gun owners and other productive Americans don’t anticipate much good news out of Chicago. On November 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit lived up to those expectations when it upheld Illinois’ ...

Virginia: Omnibus Gun Control Bills Filed Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Virginia: Omnibus Gun Control Bills Filed Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session

In Virginia, the pre-filing of legislation has begun for the 2024 session and anti-gun legislators are wasting no time in aggressively laying out their agenda. 

SCOTUS Bruen Decision (Unsurprisingly) Popular with American People

News  

Monday, November 20, 2023

SCOTUS Bruen Decision (Unsurprisingly) Popular with American People

When the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released its decision last year in the landmark New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen case, anti-gun extremist organizations had a collective conniption ...

Nebraska: Kearney City Council Rescinds Gun-Free Zone Ordinance

Take Action  

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Nebraska: Kearney City Council Rescinds Gun-Free Zone Ordinance

On Tuesday, November 28th, the Kearney City Council voted 3-2 to rescind the recent gun-free zone ordinance Resolution 2023-149. 

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

News  

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Canadians on Canada’s Gun Control Measures: Expensive, Ineffective, Political Posturing

More than three years have passed since Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban and mandatory confiscation (“buyback”) of what he called “military grade assault weapons,” which was followed by a national handgun “freeze” ...

Massachusetts: Sunday Hunting Hearing Wednesday

Hunting  

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Massachusetts: Sunday Hunting Hearing Wednesday

Tomorrow, the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will be holding a hearing on a number of hunting-related bills, including bills pertaining to Sunday Hunting. 

Supreme Court Accepts NRA First Amendment Case – A “Historic Step Forward” for the NRA and Free Speech

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, November 3, 2023

Supreme Court Accepts NRA First Amendment Case – A “Historic Step Forward” for the NRA and Free Speech

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) commented today on the United States Supreme Court accepting National Rifle Association of America v. Maria T. Vullo for review. The decision is a landmark development in one ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.