Anti-Gun States Rush to Save Federal Handgun Mailing Ban

Summary

In the ongoing case of Shreve v. United States Postal Service, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued a January 2026 memorandum stating that the federal handgun mailing ban (18 U.S.C. § 1715), enacted in 1927, is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment and Bruen. Following DOJ's decision not to defend the ban, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York have filed a motion to intervene as defendants to preserve the nearly century-old prohibition.