A federal appeals court Wednesday overturned the gun conviction of a man who's only other crime was failing to pay child support, declaring that the underlying crime should not have cost him his gun rights for life.

The ruling is the latest challenge to federal gun control laws since the Supreme Court ruled in the Bruen case in 2022, which struck down some state restrictions on concealed-carry permits. 

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a split 2-1 decision that Edward Cockerham should not permanently lose his right to own guns because he failed to pay child support. He did not serve prison time for the conviction, and was given five years of probation instead. 

“So there’s no historical justification to disarm him at that moment — never mind for the rest of his life,” Judge James Ho, a Trump appointee, wrote in the majority opinion, according to the Washington Times.

The judge said the founding fathers clearly agreed on denying gun rights to those convicted of violent crimes but it should not automatically include all felonies, defined as crimes that could be punished by a term of more than a year in prison.

“Historical analysis determines whether a particular individual can be disarmed for life,” Ho wrote. “We are unable to find a historical basis for disarming Cockerham for the rest of his life, just because he was once convicted of failure to pay child support.”

Cockerham was convicted of being a felon in possession of a weapon after he was discovered with a gun. But the gun conviction occurred after he already finished probation. 

Judge Cory Wilson, who was also appointed by President Donald Trump, sided with Ho in the ruling, while Judge Stephen Higginson, an Obama appointee, dissented. 

Higginson said he believed they should have returned the case to a lower court to explore changing legal precedents.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.