handguns by – A proposed USPS rule would allow handgun mailings again, drawing pushback from Democratic attorneys general and gun safety groups.
A proposed USPS rule would reopen a decades-old barrier to mailing handguns, a change that has quickly collided with state gun-control laws and the politics around federal authority.
If the rule takes effect, handguns could be sent through the U.S.. Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years, according to Misryoum.. In 1927. Congress limited USPS shipments of concealable firearms. aiming to reduce crime by steering handguns through licensed channels rather than open retail or private transfers.
In recent months, the Justice Department revisited that 1927 framework, arguing it is unconstitutional and conflicts with Second Amendment protections.. Misryoum reports that the department’s view is that when Congress directs the federal government to operate a parcel service. it cannot refuse to ship constitutionally protected firearms between law-abiding people simply because the sender is not a licensed manufacturer or dealer.
This is where the debate becomes less about gun shipments in isolation and more about who gets to set the rules: the federal government. or states that have tightened restrictions through background checks and other safeguards.. The answer will shape how Americans move weapons for lawful purposes and how officials try to stop misuse.
USPS says the handgun proposal is intended to align its regulations with the Justice Department’s legal position.. Under the current approach described by Misryoum. some firearms can already be mailed—such as long guns—if they are unloaded and securely packaged. and the proposed change would extend similar mailability to pistols and revolvers.
The plan also draws a sharper line for across-state transfers.. Misryoum reports that mailing handguns between states would be more limited than intrastate shipping. with procedures intended to reduce the likelihood of ordinary retail-style handgun transfers through the mail.. Supporters say the changes would make travel logistics for lawful gun owners more workable. while critics argue they lower barriers for people who should not be able to possess firearms.
Democratic attorneys general in roughly two dozen states have asked USPS to withdraw the proposal. sending a letter warning that it could allow transfers to bypass state-level requirements.. Misryoum reports that they point to safeguards such as background checks and mental-health-related checks that are administered by state systems. arguing the federal rule would override those processes and create enforcement blind spots.
While states can regulate possession and transfers. the federal postal rules can determine whether those state safeguards even come into play.. That is why the dispute has become a proxy fight over federal preemption and the practical reach of regulation in a country where gun laws vary widely by jurisdiction.
Gun-rights advocates welcomed the initiative, framing it as an overdue correction for law-abiding owners. Gun safety groups, however, criticized the move as enabling transfers they view as dangerous, and urged that USPS should not become a substitute pathway around state and local controls.
Misryoum’s takeaway is straightforward: the proposed handgun-by-mail rule is likely to remain a major flashpoint because it forces lawmakers and regulators to answer a persistent question in U.S.. politics—when federal agencies change course. which system of checks and balances should govern whether a person can lawfully receive a firearm.