A proposal tied to the Trump administration could soon change how firearms are shipped in the United States, potentially allowing Americans to send firearms through the mail using the U.S. Postal Service.
Currently, people are not allowed to be on U.S. Postal Service property with a firearm, and they are not allowed to ship one using USPS. Under the new guidelines being proposed, that could change.
Firearms defense instructor Maggie Mordaunt said significant safeguards would need to be considered before any such change becomes reality.
“I really think there’s going to be special provisions that are going to have to be in place in order for us to do something as sensitive as sending a firearm through the mail,” Mordaunt said.
Mordaunt also raised questions about how shipping firearms across state lines would work alongside existing legal requirements.
“If we’re going to start shipping guns across state lines, my bigger question is what about all the laws that are in place that we have to do first, prior to even shipping a gun, like a background check,” she said.
As part of the broader proposal, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is proposing to generally authorize people to transport any affected NFA firearms if they have a lawful purpose for transporting them, they’re transporting them on a short-term basis, and it’s legal at the destination location.
The Department of Justice has said state laws make it difficult to ship guns across state lines for lawful purposes, but the proposal has drawn opposition from some state officials.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford criticized the idea in a post on X, writing: “This unneeded proposal by the Postal Service will undo some of the hard work Nevada and other states have done to curb the epidemic of gun violence. Our state has suffered enough, and to suggest we make it easier for criminals and abusers to access firearms is a slap in the face to gun violence survivors and law enforcement.”
Ford, along with 24 other states, sent letters of opposition to USPS, urging the agency to withdraw the proposal. The states said it would make it easier for unauthorized people to access guns and make it more difficult to solve gun crimes.
Mordaunt said concerns about crime are part of the debate, but she questioned whether the proposal itself would change criminal behavior.
“From what I’ve read so far, people think it’s going to increase crime. Crime is what it is, and people are going to commit it however they’re going to commit it,” she said.
In a statement, Department of Justice and ATF officials said, “The aim is simpler, clearer regulations that do not compromise ATF’s ability to perform its critical missions to protect American communities from violent crime.”
Mordaunt said she also sees potential economic upside if the right safety measures are in place.
“If we have good things in place to ensure that the guns are going to be safe as they’re being transported, then why not? It’s going to make a lot of money for the United States Postal Service, and I know we can use it,” she said.
The Department of Justice said it is weighing comments from gun advocacy groups and gun safety organizations as it considers whether to change the regulations.