An amendment proposed by the U.S. Postal Service could potentially allow interstate mail order hand guns.
“Major express services currently forbid all persons from shipping firearms except for some federal firearms licensees that have private shipping agreements,” the opinion states. “Thus, unlicensed private citizens face a complete ban on shipping concealable firearms, even though handguns are among the core arms protected by the Second Amendment.”
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1715, the shipment of concealable firearms by private companies is not prohibited. Currently, the Postal Service allows unloaded and securely packaged long-barreled rifles and shotguns to be mailed.
If the proposed change is approved, a gun could be sold and shipped to a person within state lines.
It would be a key victory for law-abiding gun owners, according to National Rifle Association of America executive director John Commerford,
“Thanks to President Trump and his administration, USPS will finally allow these firearms to be shipped under the same commonsense safety conditions as rifles and shotguns,” Commerford said.
However, the Attorneys General of New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington state sent a letter objecting to the change and demanded that the Postal Service withdraw the proposal.
It also said that the new rule would harm states by forcing them to spend more money on law enforcement to handle widespread violations of state gun safety laws, while making it harder for states to enforce their own rules on what kinds of firearms people can own and who is allowed to possess them.
The state AGs further requested clarification around the terms “mailable firearms” and “nonmailable firearms” to ensure that the proposed rule does not create a pathway for people to unlawfully obtain and possess firearms that are not allowed in their home states.
Gun control advocates, such as Everytown for Gun Safety president John Feinblatt, believe the rule change will turn the Postal Service into a gun trafficking pipeline for illegal weapons while stripping law enforcement of the tools they need to prevent and investigate gun crimes.