USPS Weighs Rule To Let Private Citizens Mail Handguns Nationwide

The U.S. Postal Service proposed a rule in April that would allow private citizens to mail concealable handguns nationwide, a change that could expand private gun transfers and spark legal and political fights, according to CBS News.

The USPS proposal would permit in-state private shipments and limited self-to-self interstate transfers while keeping requirements that firearms be unloaded and securely packaged. USPS says it developed the draft rule in consultation with the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel and is reviewing public comments after a comment period that closed May 4. Roughly two dozen Democratic state attorneys general sent a May 4 letter opposing the change, saying it would ease access for people barred from owning guns and collide with state law.

The episode traces back to the Supreme Court's June 2022 Bruen decision, which said firearm regulations must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of regulation. In July 2025, Gun Owners of America and Pennsylvania resident Bonita Shreve sued the Postal Service, challenging a 1927 ban on mailing concealable firearms. In January 2026, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the 1927 ban is unconstitutional as applied to USPS operations, a legal view that prompted the agency to rework its shipping policy.

Data and online reaction underscore the stakes. Between 2017 and 2021, U.S. Mail was listed as the transport method in 131 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives trafficking investigations, 3.2% of cases reporting a transport method (period: 2017-2021). In 2023 the ATF traced more than 27,000 crime guns to buyers in other states, and as of April 2026 twenty-one states and D.C. require universal background checks for private sales. Social media showed sharp divides, with some users hailing restored rights and others warning of theft risks and poor policy judgment.