Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) just dropped a bombshell victory that’s got the Second Amendment community buzzing: the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has ruled that 18 U.S.C. § 1715—the outdated federal law banning the mailing of concealable firearms like pistols and revolvers—is unconstitutional. Issued on January 15, 2026, this opinion isn’t some minor footnote; it’s a direct strike against a relic from the 1968 Gun Control Act era, which arbitrarily restricted handgun shipments via USPS while letting long guns slide. GOA and GOF’s relentless litigation forced the government’s hand, proving once again that no-gunner bureaucrats can’t rewrite the Constitution through regulatory fiat.
This isn’t just a win for mail-order gun enthusiasts—it’s a seismic shift with Bruen-level implications. Remember how the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision torched interest-balancing tests and demanded historical analogs for gun laws? The OLC opinion explicitly channels that, concluding § 1715 lacks any founding-era precedent and flunks the history-and-tradition test. Cleverly, it exposes the hypocrisy in postal regs: why block handguns but not ARs or shotguns? For the 2A community, this dismantles a key barrier for FFL transfers, rural buyers, and collectors shipping heirlooms, potentially unlocking a flood of affordable, direct-to-door options without FedEx or UPS markups. Anti-gunners love carving out sensitive places like post offices to chill rights; this flips the script, affirming that even government services can’t play favorites with our firearms.
The ripple effects? Expect USPS policy U-turns soon, more challenges to shipping quirks (hello, ammo regs?), and a blueprint for states mimicking federal overreach. GOA’s no-compromise strategy—suing until the feds blink—sets the gold standard, reminding us that victories like this aren’t gifts from SCOTUS but hard-won through outfits that treat the Second Amendment like the supreme law it is. Gun owners, celebrate, but stay vigilant: the grabbers will regroup. In the meantime, dust off that parts kit and ponder your next USPS parcel.
