USPS Proposes Rule Allowing People To Mail Handguns

The United States Postal Service has proposed a new rule that would allow people to mail handguns.

It is currently prohibited to mail "concealable firearms" such as handguns and revolvers unless someone is a licensed dealer. The USPS says that it is considering the rule change to broaden who can mail handguns in an effort to be compliant with legal opinions issued by the Justice Department.

"The proposed revisions expand the scope of mailable firearms compared to the existing regulations by allowing lawful handguns to be mailed under the same terms and conditions as lawful rifles and shotguns," the proposed rule change states. "These conditions continue to require, among other things, that mailed firearms be unloaded."

CBS News reported that in 1927 Congress passed a law barring the mailing of handguns, or as the law defined them, concealable firearms, unless they were being sent by licensed dealers.

However, earlier this year the Justice Department issued an opinion that this provision was unconstitutional. The opinion stated that it "is unconstitutional as applied to constitutionally protected firearms, including handguns, because it serves an illegitimate purpose and is inconsistent with the Nation's tradition of firearm regulation."

The opinion also stated that the USPS should "modify its regulations to conform with the scope of the Second Amendment."

The rule change was proposed on April 2 and the public comment period on it ended May 4. The change remains under consideration.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat who is running for governor, told the outlet that, if approved, the new rule would undermine the state's efforts to curb gun violence.

"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.

The rule change would require that people follow gun laws, such as the Gun Control Act of 1968. Also, mailers would have to certify that the firearm they are mailing is unloaded and follow other USPS rules.

Under the rule change, it would be easier to ship a gun to someone in state. Shipping out of state would complicate matters as the person would be "subject to state, territory, or district regulations." Critics, however, say it would be nearly impossible to ensure that state laws aren't being undermined. Attorney generals from more than 20 states sent a letter in opposition to the proposed rule change.

"The Proposed Rule purports to partially repeal 18 U.S.C. § 1715, by allowing individuals to directly receive concealable firearms via the U.S. mail without using a licensed retailer as intermediary, as that longstanding statute requires—even where such shipments violate state laws restricting the possession and transfer of firearms," the letter states.

The letter also challenges whether a law passed by Congress can essentially be "invalidated" by a rule change by the USPS.

"Simply, the Rule threatens to make the U.S. mail "an instrumentality for the violation of local laws which prohibited the purchase and possession of weapons"—precisely the result Congress sought to prevent," the letter states.