USPS Under Trump Administration May Allow Handguns To Be Mailed For First Time Since 1927

The United States Postal Service may allow handguns to be mailed for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration takes effect, reviving a debate over a 1927 ban on mailing concealable firearms.

“USPS might let customers ship handguns through the mail Handguns could be mailed through the United States Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration takes effect”

ABC News

CBS News said the 1927 law barred the USPS from mailing concealable firearms unless they were from licensed dealers, and it noted that in January the Department of Justice revisited the restriction as unconstitutional and argued it violated the Second Amendment.

ABC News

CBS News reported that USPS spokesperson David Walton said the rule was proposed on April 2 to conform with the opinion of the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel regarding the constitutionality of Section 1715 of title 18 U.S. Code.

The proposal would allow anyone to mail concealable firearms like pistols and revolvers, while USPS currently allows some firearms like long-barreled rifles and shotguns to be mailed if they are unloaded and securely packaged.

In a statement provided to CBS News Thursday, Walton said the public comment period ended close of business May 4th and USPS was reviewing comments before finalizing any policy change.

Democratic attorneys general in two dozen states sent a letter this week in opposition, and CBS News reported Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said the rule change would undo the work Nevada has done to curb gun violence.

Ford said in a statement, "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," tying the proposal to Nevada’s Oct. 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 60 people.

CBS News

USA TODAY described the same policy as a potential “gun trafficking pipeline,” quoting Everytown for Gun Safety president John Feinblatt saying, “By turning the U.S. Postal Service into a gun trafficking pipeline, the Trump administration is handing felons, abusers, and straw purchasers a direct line to illegal firearms while stripping law enforcement of the tools they need to prevent and investigate gun crime,”.

Supporters of the rule change applauded the move, and USA TODAY quoted NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford saying, “The Trump Administration is delivering another key victory for America’s law-abiding gun owners,” and “For nearly a century, the United States Postal Service has arbitrarily blocked handguns from being mailed.”

USA TODAY also reported that the USPS said it was reviewing comments received during a public comment period that ended May 4, while the proposal would allow someone to sell and ship a gun within state lines.

CBS News said the rules are tighter for mailing guns across state lines, with people only able to mail it to themselves in the care of another person and required to open it themselves.

“For the first time in nearly 100 years, USPS might allow shipping handguns through its mail service, if a proposed rule under Trump is brought into effect”

Daily Express US

USA TODAY similarly described that under the proposed rule, people could mail a gun across state lines only if they mail it to themselves in the care of another person and open the mailed gun themselves.

CBS News reported that the Justice Department argued the patchwork of state laws makes it difficult to take firearms across state lines for lawful purposes like target shooting, hunting and self-defense, and said in many cases people have no ability to travel with a firearm, making mail the "only viable method of transportation."

Opponents warned the change would bypass state requirements like firearms safety courses, background searches and mental health history checks, and CBS News quoted the attorneys general letter saying, "The Proposed Rule relatedly harms States by providing a readily-accessible mechanism for transfers of firearms that bypass" federal firearms licenses.

CBS News added that law enforcement would have to create a new tracking structure to account for firearms mailed through the postal service, placing added burdens on state budgets, while private companies like UPS and FedEx restrict gun shipments to customers with federal firearms licenses.