On Thursday, the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) within the Department of Justice released an opinion declaring that the prohibition on mailing handguns contradicts the Second Amendment.
This ban has been around for nearly a century.
According to the OLC’s opinion: It was emphasized that:
In 1927, Congress established that “pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on the human body” could not be mailed (as codified at 18 USC § 1715, with some exceptions). Anyone who deposits such a firearm in the mail or arranges for its delivery via mail faces criminal penalties.
Furthermore, OLC noted:
While the law doesn’t prevent private companies from transporting concealable firearms, leading delivery services have their own bans. Only a few federal firearms licensees with specific private transportation agreements can legally carry firearms, leaving unauthorized civilians entirely barred from transporting handguns, despite them being core “weapons” protected by the Second Amendment.
After evaluating 18 USC § 1715, OLC concluded:
The restrictions set forth by Section 1715 infringe upon the Second Amendment. This section complicates the law-abiding use of firearms for valid pursuits like self-defense, shooting, and hunting. It creates substantial obstacles to transporting firearms that are constitutionally protected and hampers citizens’ rights to own and maintain arms. Essentially, these regulations aim to reduce the movement of such weapons.
Given that these provisions are constitutionally protected, the law itself is unconstitutional regarding these aspects…
OLC remarked that the 1927 prohibition does not meet the historical tests put forth by the government. blue en (2022): “…we acknowledge that there are no historical comparisons that can satisfy the government’s responsibility to prove that this unusual regulation aligns with our nation’s traditional firearm regulations.”
The opinion wraps up with: “Thus, the Executive Branch cannot enforce Section 1715 regarding constitutionally protected firearms, and the Postal Service should modify its regulations to align with the principles of the Second Amendment as discussed in this opinion.”
