A nearly 100-year-old federal ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced, according to an opinion released last week by the Department of Justice.
Postal Service policy has been that nonmailable firearms must be reported to the United States Postal Inspection Service, then referred to the relevant U.S. attorney’s office for prosecution. It considers “pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on a person,” to be nonmailable. There are no restrictions on mailing rifles and shotguns between licensed dealers, manufacturers and importers. Major private carriers, including UPS and FedEx, also restrict the shipping of firearms to licensed dealers, which the DOJ opinion argued effectively creates a “complete ban” for unlicensed people.