The U.S. Postal Service is nearing completion of a rule that would allow people to ship handguns through the regular mail, undercutting the oldest federal firearms law in existence and drawing fierce criticism from both sides of the gun debate.
Gun control advocates complained that the proposal would make private sales easier, potentially circumventing background checks. They also worried that more guns in the regular mail means more chances of firearms being lost or stolen.
Second Amendment groups, meanwhile, said the change on handguns is overdue but the Postal Service is still trampling on gun owners’ rights by barring shipment of ammunition and some other firearms that are lawful to own.
“Allowing Americans to ship handguns through the mail is not going to cause the sky to fall,” said Erich Pratt, senior vice president at Gun Owners of America.
Final public comments on the rule change were due this week, and the Postal Service said in a statement that it is reviewing them. The Postal Service gave no hint of when it might issue a final rule.
Officials said the change is a response to a Justice Department opinion this year that the 1927 ban on mailing concealable firearms infringes on American gun rights.
An Uzi went missing in Detroit, and it was registered. I’m sure those that steal gift cards and checks, and there’s a lot of them, are salivating over this proposal. One reason volumes are down is because the public knows the mail isn’t safe and avoid using it. There are simply more internal thieves than the inspection service can keep up with. Couple that with record thefts from the outside and you have a completely overwhelmed inspection service.
Not everyone is a thief. I take pride in my job. THE INSPECTION SERVICE IS THE LARGEST DRAIN ON THE POSTAL SERVICE. We literally have found fraud packages (unpaid shipping) and they are forcing us to deliver them. 🙄