# Trump Administration pushes USPS to allow the mailing of handguns **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 8, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910 "2026-05-08T17:51:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/1 "2026-05-08T17:51:57Z")
[Mail-a-handgun: Trump administration pushes to allow firearms to be delivered by USPS - Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-07/mail-a-handgun-trump-administration-pushes-to-allow-firearms-to-be-delivered-by-usps) Under the proposed change, revolvers and other handguns would be reclassified as mailable firearms and subject to the same rules that currently apply to long-barreled rifles and shotguns — namely that they are shipped unloaded and securely packaged. Could this make any gun control laws, local or state-wide, pretty much ineffectual? ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/2 "2026-05-08T18:49:34Z")
Oh, I see. Mail a handgun but not abortion medication, huh? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/3 "2026-05-08T19:24:26Z")
You can already mail your pistol back to the manufacturer, I have done so. And they mail it back to you. I used Fedex, not sure about USPS. And you can get a C&R permit (Curio and Relic) and buy any permitted (older) gun mail order. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/5 "2026-05-08T23:39:02Z")
No, it doesn’t diminish gun control laws at all. A firearm has to be shipped to a licensed (FFL) dealer, not an unlicensed individual, and that won’t change. This simply allows handguns to be shipped via USPS just as long guns are every day. As someone who has several handguns I plan to sell, this is welcome news. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/6 "2026-05-09T14:18:02Z")
I’ve bought pistols that were sent to a dealer, who made $50 off of it. If not by the post office, how was it sent for me to pick it up, and pay fifty bucks? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/7 "2026-05-09T14:32:09Z")
UPS, probably. Maybe FedEx. 100 years ago, the US Post Office was banned from shipping handguns sent by private individuals. Individuals had to use commercial shipping companies. The only thing this proposal is going to change is it gives the public one additional option for shipping their handguns. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/8 "2026-05-09T15:36:47Z")
Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/9 "2026-05-09T17:39:16Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I’ve bought pistols that were sent to a dealer, who made $50 off of it. If not by the post office, how was it sent for me to pick it up, and pay fifty bucks? Is it possible the person you bought them from was also a dealer? It is already legal for licensed dealers to ship to other licensed dealers via USPS. I do it all the time. All this new proposal does, as already stated, is gives non-licensees another venue to ship with. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/10 "2026-05-09T19:56:53Z")
Yes, a pawn and gun shop connected to the range. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/11 "2026-05-09T21:52:52Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, a pawn and gun shop connected to the range That explains it. I have paperwork on file at 5 different post offices. Every now and then we’ll get an inexperienced clerk that freaks when you tell them you’re mailing a handgun. But most know who I or one of my employees are. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-administration-pushes-usps-to-allow-the-mailing-of-handguns/1029910/12 "2026-05-10T02:04:56Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > You can already mail your pistol back to the manufacturer, I have done so. And they mail it back to you. I used Fedex, not sure about USPS. I’ve done the same - IIRC at the time only FedEx was willing to ship handguns, but you had to clearly declare it. In my case, it was warranty repairs (mediocre pistol, good customer service and warranty) so they gave me a pre-authorized shipping label so very little effort on my part. And of course, tying further into @mixdenny’s post, _black powder_ pistols (most often cap-and-ball) and other classes of premodern firearms were shippable with minimal restrictions in most states, which was once a selling point for Cabela’s and the like. I -think- this is mostly a political show - it’s not changing anything on a _legal_ basis - if you’re purchasing online from a manufacturer or through an online auction site, you’re still doing the transfer via FFL but it might end up with a tiny reduction in cost for the shipping. If you’re doing some sort of illicit sale… you’re still leaving some sort of record of the shipping just like with FedEx. So it’s the sort of political theater where they can say they’ve protected/expanded gun owner’s rights without actually having to _do_ anything that might come back to bite them more than the status quo.