The U.S. Postal Service could soon allow handguns to be mailed for the first time in nearly a century if a proposed rule under the Trump administration is approved, with opponents of the bill calling it a potential “gun trafficking pipeline.”
Since 1927, Congress has banned the USPS from mailing concealable firearms unless they were sent from licensed dealers. But in a January memo, the Department of Justice revisited the law, saying it was unconstitutional and arguing it violated the Second Amendment.
“Consequently, so long as Congress chooses to run a parcel service, the Second Amendment precludes it from refusing to ship constitutionally protected firearms to and from law-abiding citizens, even if they are not licensed manufacturers or dealers,” the DOJ’s memo said.
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Following that memo, the USPS proposed a new rule in April that would allow people to mail firearms like pistols and revolvers. According to the USPS rulebook, people can currently mail long-barreled rifles and shotguns only if they are unloaded and securely packaged.
According to the proposed rule change, those similar protections would be in place for handguns. In an emailed statement to USA TODAY, the USPS said it was reviewing comments it received during its public comment period, which ended May 4.
The proposed rule would allow someone to sell and ship a gun within state lines. According to the Federal Register, 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.
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY that the proposed rule change would turn the USPS into a “gun trafficking pipeline” for illegal weapons.
“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,” he said.
Supporters of the rule change have applauded the move, calling it a victory for gun owners. In an emailed statement to USA TODAY, John Commerford, NRA-ILA Executive Director, said his organization hoped the rule would be finalized soon.
“The Trump Administration is delivering another key victory for America’s law-abiding gun owners,” he said. “For nearly a century, the United States Postal Service has arbitrarily blocked handguns from being mailed.”
What rules do other shipping carriers have?
UPS and FedEx, two private companies, restrict gun shipments to people with federal firearms licenses, which include importers, manufacturers, dealers and collectors. Moreover, UPS does not allow people to ship “automatic weapons, including machine guns, for shipment,” or allow customers to ship firearms internationally.
According to FedEx’s rules, people with a federal firearms license are also required to work with an account executive to receive approval before being allowed to ship a firearm.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USPS could soon allow people to ship handguns, undoing 100-year-old rule
