las vegas — Handguns could be sent through the US Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration goes into effect. Democratic attorneys general in two dozen states sent a letter this week in opposition.
In 1927, Congress passed a law prohibiting the US Postal Service from mailing concealable firearms unless they were from licensed dealers in an effort to reduce crime. In January, the Justice Department revisited the 1927 law, calling it unconstitutional, arguing that it violated the Second Amendment, and urging the Postal Service to change its regulations.
The Justice Department said that as long as Congress chose to operate the parcel service, “the Second Amendment prohibits it from refusing to ship constitutionally protected firearms to and from law-abiding citizens, even if they are not licensed manufacturers or dealers.”
Last month, USPS proposed a new rule that would allow anyone to mail concealable firearms such as handguns and pistols. USPS currently allows some firearms such as long-barreled rifles and shotguns to be mailed, but they must be unloaded and securely packed. Similar protections will apply to handguns, which have evolved since 1927. The US Postal Service said in a statement that it is reviewing public comments — which were scheduled for Monday — before making final changes.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat running for governor, said changing the rule would undermine the work states like Nevada have done to reduce gun violence. Nevada witnessed The deadliest mass shooting In modern United States history, on October 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, killing 60 people. After the shooting, Nevada passed a law requiring state-run background checks on most private gun sales or transfers.
“Our state has suffered enough, and proposing to make it easier for felons and abusers to access firearms is a slap in the face for gun violence survivors and law enforcement officials,” Ford said in a statement.
Under the proposed rules, anyone could sell and ship a gun to someone within the state’s borders. The rules are stricter about sending guns across state lines — people can only mail them to themselves in someone else’s care and will be required to open them themselves. This is designed to help people traveling to another state where they may want to use a gun recreationally.
The Justice Department says the state’s patchwork of gun laws makes it difficult to move them across state lines for lawful purposes such as target shooting, hunting and self-defense. In many cases, people can’t travel with a firearm, making mail “the only viable mode of transportation,” she said.
Ford and other attorneys general in about two dozen states sent a letter Monday urging USPS to withdraw the proposed rule, saying it would make it easier for people who cannot legally possess guns, such as people convicted of felonies or domestic violence, to access them. They also said it would make gun crimes more difficult to solve. They said the executive branch does not have the authority to ignore the law passed by Congress and the rule would override state gun laws.
State laws include requirements such as firearms safety courses, background checks and mental health history checks, according to prosecutors. These requirements are regulated by state entities, which would be bypassed if the rule change is implemented, they said. They said there would be no way to ensure someone would follow the rules and not ship a gun across state lines to someone else.
Law enforcement would have to create a new tracking structure to account for firearms mailed through the Postal Service, which would place additional burdens on state budgets, prosecutors said.
Private companies such as UPS and FedEx also restrict gun shipments to customers with federal firearms licenses, such as importers, manufacturers, dealers and collectors. FedEx requires shippers with a federal firearms license to work with a FedEx account executive to obtain approval, according to the company’s website.
Firearm advocacy groups praised the proposed change, while gun safety organizations expressed concern.
John Comerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s lobbying arm, called the order a major victory for law-abiding gun owners.
“Thanks to President Trump and his administration, USPS will finally allow these firearms to be shipped under the same common-sense safety conditions as rifles and shotguns,” Comerford said in a statement Wednesday.
The rule change would turn the USPS into a “gun trafficking pipeline” for illegal weapons “while stripping law enforcement of the tools they need to prevent and investigate gun crimes,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.