In a seismic shift for Second Amendment advocates, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) just dropped a bombshell opinion on Thursday, declaring that the longstanding federal ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service runs afoul of the Constitution’s most sacred right. This isn’t some fringe legal theory—it’s a formal OLC memo, the kind that binds executive branch actions and often paves the way for policy reversals. Rooted in the Supreme Court’s Bruen framework, which demands gun regulations be grounded in historical tradition rather than modern policy whims, the opinion dismantles the 1968 Gun Control Act’s handgun mailing prohibition as lacking any analogous historical precedent from the Founding era. Handguns, the OLC argues, are arms in common use for self-defense, and restricting their transport via a ubiquitous public service like USPS echoes the very selective burdens on the right to bear arms that Bruen struck down.
This ruling isn’t just bureaucratic housekeeping; it’s a masterstroke for the 2A community, exposing the rot in decades-old restrictions masquerading as common sense safety measures. Think about it: while rifles and shotguns could be mailed (with restrictions), handguns—the quintessential self-defense tool—were singled out, forcing law-abiding citizens to trek to distant FFL dealers or pay premium shipping via private carriers like UPS or FedEx, who often impose their own hurdles. The implications ripple far beyond postage stamps: this opens the door to challenging other arbitrary federal transport bans, like those on common carriers, and bolsters ongoing litigation against state-level shipping restrictions from outfits like California or New York. For collectors, rural shooters, and everyday carriers, it means easier interstate transfers, inheritance handling, and competition logistics—without Big Brother’s thumb on the scale.
Pro-2A warriors should celebrate this as momentum builds post-Bruen, but stay vigilant: the OLC opinion binds the DOJ, yet Congress or activist judges could push back. Firearms Freedom groups are already buzzing, urging ATF clarification and broader reforms. If history is any guide, this is the crack in the dam—get your ammo ready, because the fight for unrestricted bearability just leveled up.
