The Justice Department said Thursday it will no longer enforce a nearly century-old federal ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service, calling the restriction unconstitutional under the Second Amendment in a move that could force USPS to rewrite long-standing firearms rules and reshape how law-abiding gun owners transport handguns.
In a Jan. 15, 2026, memorandum opinion for the attorney general, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) concluded that 18 U.S.C. Section 1715 is unconstitutional as applied to constitutionally protected firearms, including handguns, and said the Postal Service "should modify its regulations to conform with this opinion."
"You have asked whether 18 U.S.C. § 1715 infringes the Second Amendment and, if so, whether the Department of Justice should cease prosecuting violations of the statute. We conclude that the restriction imposed by section 1715 violates the Second Amendment," the opinion read.
"Section 1715 makes it difficult to travel with arms for lawful purposes, including self-defense, target shooting, and hunting. The statute also imposes significant barriers to shipping constitutionally protected firearms as articles of commerce, which interferes with citizens' incidental rights to acquire and maintain arms."
Section 1715 traces to a 1927 law declaring "pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on the person" to be "nonmailable."
USPS policy has long treated handguns as barred from the mail stream for ordinary citizens, while allowing rifles and shotguns under specified conditions.
The OLC opinion said the handgun restriction effectively blocks practical transportation options for many travelers and gun owners because major parcel carriers do not ship firearms for private citizens, leaving workarounds that add cost and delay.
It concluded that "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."
However, the opinion drew limits.
It said Section 1715 may still be enforced against firearms "that lack constitutional protection, such as undetectable firearms," and "concealable gadget-type guns designed primarily for assassination, like pen guns."
It also said the Postal Service need not carry ammunition or gunpowder, citing safety and historical analogues for restricting explosives.
The decision lands amid ongoing litigation.
Gun Owners of America, the Gun Owners Foundation, and a Pennsylvania plaintiff filed a federal lawsuit in July 2025 challenging the handgun mailing ban. The case is currently in early procedural stages, with briefing schedules set on a motion to dismiss.
The OLC opinion cited the case, Shreve v. U.S. Postal Serv., and said constitutional rights should not be "abridged while awaiting the outcome."
The action comes under President Donald Trump's administration, which has increasingly framed Second Amendment disputes around the Supreme Court's "history and tradition" test announced in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
Gun-control advocates have argued the Bruen standard can undermine longstanding firearms safeguards, calling the 2022 ruling "dangerously" expansive.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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