In a seismic shift that’s got the gun rights world buzzing, the Department of Justice has just handed law-abiding Americans a major win by declaring that the long-standing federal ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service can’t be enforced against folks who aren’t felons or otherwise prohibited. This reversal stems directly from a lawsuit by Gun Owners of America (GOA), which cleverly leveraged the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen decision—the one that smashed fuzzy interest-balancing tests and demanded gun laws align with our nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Picture this: for decades, 18 U.S.C. § 1715 has loomed like a bureaucratic boogeyman, forcing gun owners to rely on pricier private carriers like UPS or FedEx, all while USPS handled everything from heirloom jewelry to Amazon hauls without batting an eye. The DOJ’s new opinion slices through that hypocrisy, affirming that non-prohibited persons can now ship handguns via the post office, provided they follow basic protocols like declaring the contents and using proper packaging.
This isn’t just a paperwork tweak; it’s a Bruen-fueled earthquake rippling through the anti-gun regulatory thicket. By applying Bruen’s historical analogue test, the DOJ exposed § 1715’s handgun-specific ban as a modern invention without roots in 1791 or 1868 traditions—after all, the Founders mailed letters with musket balls enclosed, and the Pony Express didn’t discriminate against sidearms. For the 2A community, the implications are electric: cheaper, more accessible shipping democratizes the market, empowering small FFLs, hobbyists, and collectors to compete without FedEx’s gouging fees or hazmat surcharges. It undercuts the NRA’s old common sense compromises too, proving aggressive litigation (shoutout to GOA’s no-compromise style) delivers where lobbying stalls. But don’t pop the champagne yet—expect ATF busybodies or blue-state AGs to test the waters with selective enforcement, and watch for ripple effects on ammo or long-gun mailing rules.
The bigger picture? This is Bruen’s domino effect in action, chipping away at the post-New Deal web of federal overreach that treats firearms like radiological waste. For gun owners, it’s a reminder to holster your patience and keep the lawsuits flying—every reversal like this normalizes armed self-defense in everyday logistics. If you’re shipping that spare Glock to a buddy or inheriting Grandpa’s Colt, USPS is now (mostly) fair game. Stay vigilant, stock up on Priority Mail boxes, and thank the justices who reminded bureaucrats that history, not hysteria, writes the rules. Victory tastes like freedom—and a little bit like gun oil.
