Court revives challenge to ban on gun sales to Americans visiting from abroad

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit backed by gun rights activists challenging a U.S. government policy that prevents American citizens who live abroad from buying guns when they visit the United States.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, by a 2-1 vote, threw out a federal district judge's ruling that had rejected the challenge. The appeals court ordered that the case now go to trial.

At issue are provisions of U.S. law that prevent gun sales to people who do not live in the state where the sale takes place, as is the case with people who reside in another country. The law does allow dealers to lend or rent firearms to people who wish to use them for sporting purposes like hunting.

The lead plaintiff in the case, Stephen Dearth, an American citizen who lives in Canada, says the restriction infringes on his right to bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment because it means he cannot buy or rent a gun for self-defense purposes when visiting the United States. Dearth is backed by the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun rights group.

The three-judge panel was divided over the outcome, with one, Judge Karen Henderson, saying she would have upheld the federal regulations and another, Judge Thomas Griffith, saying he would have ruled the other way.

The tie-breaker effectively went to the panel's third member, Judge Raymond Randolph, who wrote that the court could not resolve the case on the merits because there are factual questions remaining, including whether Dearth has legal standing to sue.

The case is Dearth v. Lynch, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 12-5305.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)