Why It Matters
A recent Congressional Research Service report on the Trump administration's proposed changes to remote firearm purchases and transfers highlights a potential shift in how firearms could be mailed and sold without buyers appearing in person at a dealer's premises. The administration has proposed two major regulatory changes, one through the U.S. Postal Service and another through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, that would dramatically expand the channels through which Americans can buy and receive guns without visiting a dealer's storefront.
The proposals would loosen existing restrictions on mailing concealable firearms and completing firearm transfers without a buyer appearing at a federally licensed dealer's premises. Federal law generally prohibits mailing pistols, revolvers and other firearms capable of being concealed on a person through the Postal Service, subject to statutory exceptions. The Postal Service's proposed rule would significantly expand the categories of firearms considered mailable. The separate ATF proposal is part of a broader regulatory effort to revise restrictions on non-over-the-counter firearm transactions.
Critics, including gun-control advocates, contend that expanding remote sales and firearm shipments could increase the risks of straw purchases, firearm theft and trafficking. The ATF proposal, however, would not eliminate federal background checks for covered transactions. Instead, it would allow federally licensed dealers to conduct qualifying non-over-the-counter transfers subject to National Instant Criminal Background Check System requirements using remote identity verification.
The Postal Service has cited a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel opinion concluding that the federal prohibition on mailing concealable firearms is unconstitutional as applied to constitutionally protected firearms and that USPS should modify its regulations accordingly.
The Big Picture
The USPS proposal, published in the Federal Register on April 2, would revise postal regulations governing firearm shipments. Under the proposal, lawful firearms, including pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns, generally could be mailed, while certain weapons, including machine guns, destructive devices and short-barreled shotguns, would remain subject to additional restrictions.
The proposal would also expand mailing options for people who are not federal firearms licensees, but it would not override separate restrictions imposed by the Gun Control Act on interstate firearm transfers. Federal law generally prohibits an unlicensed person from transferring a firearm to an unlicensed resident of another state and generally requires interstate transfers to proceed through a federally licensed dealer in the recipient's state. An unlicensed person may, however, ship a firearm to themselves in another state for lawful purposes, subject to applicable federal, state and local law.
The ATF proposal, published as a notice of proposed rulemaking on May 8, takes a different approach. It would expand non-over-the-counter transactions between federally licensed dealers and unlicensed buyers who reside in the same state as the dealer. Under the proposal, participating dealers could remotely verify a buyer's identity, conduct a required NICS background check and, after satisfying other statutory requirements, ship the firearm directly to the buyer rather than requiring the buyer to appear at the dealer's premises.
Crucially, the proposal would eliminate the existing regulatory restriction that generally limits non-over-the-counter transactions to transfers exempt from NICS background checks. Instead, qualifying transactions subject to NICS could be completed remotely while retaining the background-check requirement.
ATF estimates that approximately 3.28 million firearm purchasers annually could eventually use the remote-transfer option. The agency estimated the proposal would eliminate approximately 4 million hours of travel time annually and generate about $103.7 million in annualized monetized benefits, primarily through reduced travel and transaction time.
Gun-control advocates have raised concerns that expanding firearm shipments could increase the risks of straw purchases, theft, trafficking or firearms being lost during delivery. The ATF proposal would retain federal background-check requirements and require remote identity proofing for qualifying transactions.
Federal law also requires a federally licensed dealer conducting a non-over-the-counter transfer to send notice to the chief law enforcement officer in the buyer's locality. The firearm cannot be shipped or delivered until at least seven days have elapsed after the dealer sends or delivers the required notice. ATF's proposal would modernize that process by permitting electronic notices to and responses from chief law enforcement officers.
The Bottom Line
If finalized, the two proposals would substantially expand remote firearm transactions without eliminating the federal laws governing who may possess firearms or the background-check requirements applicable to covered dealer sales. The USPS proposal would broaden the circumstances under which firearms, including handguns, may be sent through the mail, while the ATF proposal would allow federally licensed dealers to complete qualifying sales to same-state buyers without requiring them to appear in person at the dealer's premises.
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