A federal appeals court has declined to revive a legal challenge aimed at forcing Minnesota to honor more out-of-state handgun carry permits, leaving the state’s current reciprocity boundaries in place. The ruling means Minnesota can continue refusing to recognize certain permits issued elsewhere without being found in violation of the Second Amendment.

The decision came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which dismissed the case rather than sending it forward for further litigation. With that dismissal, Minnesota’s existing approach to recognizing permits from other states remains intact.

At the center of the dispute was Minnesota’s policy of accepting some outside carry permits while not recognizing others. The plaintiffs argued that the Second Amendment should prevent the state from denying validity to certain permits held by nonresidents or issued under other states’ standards.

The appellate court did not adopt that theory. By concluding the lawsuit could not proceed, the court effectively accepted that Minnesota’s continued refusal to honor particular carry permits is not, by itself, a constitutional violation under the Second Amendment.

For gun owners and advocates of nationwide carry recognition, the outcome underscores how much discretion states still have in setting reciprocity rules, even after major Second Amendment decisions in recent years. Unless a different court reaches a contrary conclusion or lawmakers change the rules, Minnesota’s selective recognition of out-of-state carry permits will continue.