The courts are divided over the ban on purchases of guns by people facing felony charges, after a U.S. Supreme Court's ruling stating that the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.
Federal prosecutors are pushing to revive a Texas man's conviction under a law barring people under indictment for felonies from buying guns, which was earlier declared unconstitutional by a lower court.
The argument presented by the prosecutor was that the law was consistent with the tradition of restricting the rights of people accused of serious crimes while they await trial.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seemed doubtful of federal prosecutors' efforts to bring back the conviction of a Texan for a federal law that avoids people indicted for felonies from buying guns.
The dispute over the law that is several decades old has split trial-level federal courts in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year on the 2nd Amendment.
The ruling recognizes the right to keep and bear arms outside of people's homes, but also confirms that states can control that right to some extent.
The six to three ruling also said that legislation restricting the use of guns must maintain the nation's historic custom of regulation.
The Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Texas, Charles Fowler, stated this week that the ban on gun purchases was consistent with "the strong tradition of restricting the rights of people accused of serious crimes while they await trial."
The ongoing debate over the ban on purchases of guns by people charged with felonies is impacted by the Supreme Court's ruling that strengthened the rights of firearm owners.
Texas resident Christopher Cook, who was indicted in 2017 for allegedly possessing child pornography, appealed, claiming the federal law was unconstitutional.
A federal judge from San Antonio dismissed the indictment the next year, noting that the order violated the "fundamental right" protected by the 2nd Amendment.
A brief filed at the appeals court by a group of former federal judges, including Kenneth Starr and Michael Mukasey, formerly Attorney General under President George W. Bush, argued last year that no one could take away a citizen's rights, including the right to possess arms, without due process.