Whether a state can impose a lifetime ban on purchasing handguns against anyone who has been convicted of a nonviolent misdemeanor involving guns

QUESTION PRESENTED Massachusetts requires people to obtain licenses in order to possess or purchase handguns, and it disqualifies people with certain criminal convictions from obtaining licenses. Pertinently, Massachusetts law provides that an individual who has been convicted of a nonviolent misdemeanor that concerned the possession or use of a gun can obtain a license that allows him to possess a handgun at home after five years have passed. However, this same person can never obtain authorization to purchase a handgun— meaning that the only way they can obtain one is if someone leaves it to them by bequest or intestacy. The question presented is whether a state can impose a lifetime ban on purchasing handguns (but not possessing them) against anyone who has been convicted of a nonviolent misdemeanor that involved the possession or use of guns.