Bonta Challenges USPS Handgun Mailing Rule — The Mail
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta is challenging the Trump administration's push to let concealable handguns go through the mail after a Justice Department opinion said the 1927 ban was unconstitutional. Under the proposal outlined by the United States Postal Service last month, revolvers and other handguns would be treated as mailable firearms.
Bonta called the proposed mail-a-handgun policy a “dangerous loophole” and joined 22 attorneys general in a comment letter to USPS. The postal service said it would review all public comments before finalizing any policy change, leaving the proposal open to revision before it takes effect.
Bonta’s Comment Letter
Bonta said in a statement, “Once again, the Trump Administration is recklessly disregarding the safety of the people it is sworn to serve,” and, “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 change would put handguns under the same shipping rules that already apply to long-barreled rifles and shotguns. Those rules require firearms to be shipped unloaded and securely packaged. Gun rights advocates say the change would make it easier to ship handguns for repairs, sports shooting on vacation, and relocation to a new address.
USPS Rule Under Review
Congress banned members of the public from mailing concealable firearms in 1927, creating a rule that has lasted for 99 years. The Justice Department opinion issued in January said the Second Amendment precludes USPS from refusing to ship constitutionally protected firearms to and from law-abiding citizens.
John Commerford, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said, “The Trump Administration is delivering another key victory for America’s law-abiding gun owners,” and, “For nearly a century, the United States Postal Service has arbitrarily blocked handguns from being mailed.”
The proposal would still limit shipping to another person within the same state, a restriction that leaves the practical fight over state gun laws and traceability at the center of the comment process. USPS has said it will review the public record before deciding whether to finish the change.
