Landmark DOJ opinion: Federal ban on
mailing handguns is unconstitutional

The Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), led by Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser, issued a groundbreaking memorandum opinion Jan. 15, concluding that 18 U.S.C. § 1715, the nearly century-old federal statute prohibiting the mailing of concealable firearms, is unconstitutional as applied to constitutionally protected arms, such as handguns.

This opinion marks a significant application of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, extending Second Amendment protections to the shipment of firearms via the U.S. Postal Service.

Enacted in 1927 as one of the earliest federal gun control measures, § 1715 declares "pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on the person" nonmailable, with limited exceptions for government officials and licensed dealers. The law was originally designed to curb mail-order handgun sales that bypassed strict state and local regulations during the early 20th century. Today, combined with policies from private carriers like FedEx, UPS, and DHL, which largely prohibit nonlicensed individuals from shipping firearms, it effectively creates a near-total ban on private citizens mailing handguns.

The OLC opinion argues that this restriction violates the Second Amendment. Handguns, the opinion notes, are "among the core 'arms' protected" by the amendment, as affirmed in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago. …