A federal appeals court will hear a case by gun rights activists challenging whether Americans living abroad can purchase firearms.
Stephen Dearth, an American citizen who lives in Canada, and the Second Amendment Foundation are challenging a government policy that blocks him from buying a firearm when he visits the U.S.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives currently prohibits people from purchasing firearms in a state other than the one they reside, The Hill reported.
But Dearth does not have a home state because he is living abroad.
While a federal district court sided with ATF, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia voted 2-1 on Tuesday to accept the case.
“A statute that prevents a law-abiding citizen from exercising his or her Second Amendment rights while back on U.S. soil, no matter where they happen to be living, needs to be challenged,” Alan Gottlieb, the Second Amendment Foundation’s founder and executive vice president, said in a statement.
