People could soon ship handguns through US postal service

U.S. Postal Service Considers Reversing Nearly Century-Old Handgun Mailing Ban

A proposed rule change by the U.S. Postal Service could soon allow Americans to mail handguns through the postal system for the first time since 1927, drawing sharp criticism from attorneys general in two dozen states who warn it could undermine gun safety laws and facilitate illegal firearms trafficking.

The Department of Justice initiated the change in January, arguing that the longstanding ban violates the Second Amendment. In a legal opinion, DOJ officials stated that “the Second Amendment precludes [Congress] from refusing to ship constitutionally protected firearms to and from law-abiding citizens,” so long as the federal government continues to operate a postal service.

Under the proposed regulations, handguns could be mailed with similar restrictions currently applied to long guns like rifles and shotguns, which are already permitted in the mail if properly packaged and unloaded. The USPS is currently reviewing public comments, which closed Monday, before finalizing any changes.

The proposal would primarily allow individuals to mail handguns within their own states. For interstate handgun shipments, stricter rules would apply – guns could only be mailed to the owner themselves “in care of” another person, and the owner would be required to personally open the package. This provision aims to help gun owners who travel between states for activities like hunting, target shooting, or self-defense.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat currently running for governor, is among the most vocal critics of the proposed change. Nevada experienced the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history when a gunman killed 60 people at the Mandalay Bay casino in Las Vegas in 2017, prompting the state to implement stronger background check requirements for private gun sales.

“Our state has suffered enough, and to suggest we make it easier for criminals and abusers to access firearms is a slap in the face to gun violence survivors and law enforcement,” Ford said in a statement.

The coalition of attorneys general challenging the rule warned it would create significant public safety risks by potentially allowing prohibited individuals to circumvent background checks and other state-specific gun regulations. Their letter argues that the rule would “make it easier for people who can’t legally possess guns, like people convicted of felonies or domestic violence, to access them.”

Law enforcement officials also expressed concern about the rule’s impact on crime investigations. The attorneys general claimed that without proper tracking mechanisms, firearms could be shipped across state lines illegally, and that creating new systems to monitor mailed firearms would place additional burdens on already stretched state budgets.

The proposed change would put USPS policy significantly at odds with private carriers. Both UPS and FedEx currently restrict gun shipments to customers with federal firearms licenses, such as licensed dealers, importers, manufacturers and collectors. FedEx requires additional approval through an account executive before shipping firearms.

The proposal has created a predictable divide among gun rights and gun safety organizations. John Commerford, executive director of the NRA’s lobbying arm, celebrated the potential change as “a key victory for law-abiding gun owners” and thanked the Trump administration for ensuring “USPS will finally allow these firearms to be shipped under the same commonsense safety conditions as rifles and shotguns.”

Meanwhile, John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, warned the rule change would turn the postal service into a “gun trafficking pipeline” while hampering law enforcement’s ability to prevent and investigate gun crimes.

The debate highlights the ongoing tension between federal and state authority over gun regulations. The attorneys general argue that the executive branch lacks authority to override a congressional statute that has stood for nearly a century, and that the rule change would effectively nullify state gun laws designed to protect public safety.

The USPS has not indicated when it expects to issue a final decision on the proposed rule, which would mark a significant shift in federal firearms shipping policy if enacted.