The Trump administration is pushing the Unites States Postal Service to allow people to send concealable handguns in the mail after the Department of Justice declared a 99-year-old ban on the practice unconstitutional.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta is calling the proposed mail-a-handgun policy a “dangerous loophole” that threatens to undermine state gun control laws and enable weapons trafficking.
Under the proposed change outlined by the USPS last month, revolvers and other handguns would be reclassified as mailable firearms and subject to the same rules that currently apply to long-barreled rifles and shotguns — namely that they are shipped unloaded and securely packaged.
The Golden State is not alone in its rebuke of the policy proposal. This week, Bonta joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general from mainly Democratic states submitting a comment letter to the Postal Service outlining their opposition.
“Once again, the Trump Administration is recklessly disregarding the safety of the people it is sworn to serve,” Bonta said in a statement. “We cannot ignore the dangerous consequences of this proposed rule, which could open the door for prohibited individuals to obtain weapons without background checks or regard for state firearms laws.”
The USPS said it would review all public comments before finalizing any policy change.
Congress banned members of the public from mailing concealable firearms in 1927, but in January the Department of Justice issued an opinion siding with a challenge filed by gun rights groups and declared the federal law unconstitutional.
“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 opinion stated.
Gun rights advocates have praised the proposed change, saying it will enable citizens to more easily ship handguns for repairs, for sports shooting on vacation and when relocating to a new address.
“The Trump Administration is delivering another key victory for America’s law-abiding gun owners,” John Commerford, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. “For nearly a century, the United States Postal Service has arbitrarily blocked handguns from being mailed.”
But Bonta and the coalition of state attorneys general in opposition argue that the law restricting the mailing of handguns via USPS is constitutional. They also say that the Department of Justice, which is part of the executive branch of power, does not have the authority to unilaterally invalidate the long-standing federal statute.
They say that by allowing people to mail handguns and bypass the need for a licensed seller it will be easier for felons and domestic abusers to illegally gain access to these weapons. They also argue that it will make it harder for law enforcement to trace the movement of handguns and solve related crimes.
Under the proposed policy change, people are allowed to ship a gun only to another person within the same state. If they want to ship a gun across state lines, they are required to ship it in care of another person and then open the package themselves.
Opponents to the change, however, say there will be no easy way to ensure people are following these rules, and various state gun laws, when mailing easily concealable handguns.
“It is categorically unfair and outright dangerous to expect postal workers to navigate complex federal, state, and local firearm laws,” said Kris Brown, president of gun violence prevention group Brady, in a statement, “and under this new system, we will undoubtedly see an increase in firearm trafficking and theft — putting all of us at risk.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Trump administration is pushing the Unites States Postal Service to allow people to send concealable handguns in the mail after the Department of Justice declared a 99-year-old ban on the practice unconstitutional.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta is calling the proposed mail-a-handgun policy a “dangerous loophole” that threatens to undermine state gun control laws and enable weapons trafficking.
Under the proposed change outlined by the USPS last month, revolvers and other handguns would be reclassified as mailable firearms and subject to the same rules that currently apply to long-barreled rifles and shotguns — namely that they are shipped unloaded and securely packaged.
The Golden State is not alone in its rebuke of the policy proposal. This week, Bonta joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general from mainly Democratic states submitting a comment letter to the Postal Service outlining their opposition.
“Once again, the Trump Administration is recklessly disregarding the safety of the people it is sworn to serve,” Bonta said in a statement. “We cannot ignore the dangerous consequences of this proposed rule, which could open the door for prohibited individuals to obtain weapons without background checks or regard for state firearms laws.”
The USPS said it would review all public comments before finalizing any policy change.
Congress banned members of the public from mailing concealable firearms in 1927, but in January the Department of Justice issued an opinion siding with a challenge filed by gun rights groups and declared the federal law unconstitutional.
“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 opinion stated.
Gun rights advocates have praised the proposed change, saying it will enable citizens to more easily ship handguns for repairs, for sports shooting on vacation and when relocating to a new address.
“The Trump Administration is delivering another key victory for America’s law-abiding gun owners,” John Commerford, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. “For nearly a century, the United States Postal Service has arbitrarily blocked handguns from being mailed.”
But Bonta and the coalition of state attorneys general in opposition argue that the law restricting the mailing of handguns via USPS is constitutional. They also say that the Department of Justice, which is part of the executive branch of power, does not have the authority to unilaterally invalidate the long-standing federal statute.
They say that by allowing people to mail handguns and bypass the need for a licensed seller it will be easier for felons and domestic abusers to illegally gain access to these weapons. They also argue that it will make it harder for law enforcement to trace the movement of handguns and solve related crimes.
Under the proposed policy change, people are allowed to ship a gun only to another person within the same state. If they want to ship a gun across state lines, they are required to ship it in care of another person and then open the package themselves.
Opponents to the change, however, say there will be no easy way to ensure people are following these rules, and various state gun laws, when mailing easily concealable handguns.
“It is categorically unfair and outright dangerous to expect postal workers to navigate complex federal, state, and local firearm laws,” said Kris Brown, president of gun violence prevention group Brady, in a statement, “and under this new system, we will undoubtedly see an increase in firearm trafficking and theft — putting all of us at risk.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
