The Satuit Nimrod

Quotes of the Month

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them ."

~ Thomas Paine

"This gun is liberty; hold for certain that the day when you no more have it, you will be returned to slavery."

~ Toussaint Louverture — Haitian General

"A gun show is about like-minded people who feel as if everything has been taken away from them - jobs, money, pride."

 ~ Paul Theroux — American travel writer and novelist

Will the USPS Allow Handguns to Be Mailed?

by Frank Miniter, posted on April 4, 2026 in NRA American Rifleman.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on April 2, 2026, published a proposed rule that would permit the mailing of lawful handguns through the U.S. mail for the first time in nearly a century. The change aligns Postal Service regulations with a January 2026 Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion declaring the longstanding federal ban on mailing “concealable firearms” unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

The proposal, detailed in the Federal Register, revises standards in USPS Publication 52 (Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail). It expands “mailable firearms” to include pistols, revolvers, and other handguns—previously classified as non-mailable—under the same conditions already applied to rifles and shotguns. Firearms must be unloaded, securely packaged according to “Domestic Mail Manual” guidelines, and bear no external markings indicating the contents. Most shipments require USPS tracking and signature confirmation at delivery. Mailers must also comply with the Gun Control Act of 1968, state and local laws, and all other federal regulations.

The rule stems from a 15-page DOJ Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memorandum issued January 15, 2026. That opinion concluded that a 1927 statute prohibiting the mailing of pistols, revolvers, and other concealable firearms violates the Second Amendment as applied to constitutionally protected arms. The DOJ determined the ban lacks historical tradition and serves no legitimate purpose consistent with the nation’s firearm regulation history. It instructed USPS to update its rules accordingly and stated that the executive branch would no longer enforce the statute against protected firearms.

Under current rules, handguns are generally non-mailable except in limited cases, such as shipments between licensed manufacturers, dealers, importers, or certain government officials, which often require affidavits or special forms. The proposed revisions maintain strict limits on National Firearms Act (NFA) items (machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, suppressors, and destructive devices) and other items.

The USPS says it is deferring to the DOJ’s constitutional analysis. “The Postal Service defers to OLC’s judgment as to the lawful scope of this criminal statute,” the proposal states.

The restriction has long forced gun owners into costly workarounds, such as routing handguns through FFLs for interstate travel or repairs. This change would simply restore Second Amendment-protected rights to transport arms, just as Americans have historically been able to do—a protection articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in the NRA-backed case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).

Gun-control groups and anti-Second Amendment state attorneys general have pushed back. The state AGs for Delaware, New Jersey, and New York argue the 1927 law is a safeguard against firearms trafficking, though it is hard to fathom why a criminal who already cannot possess a gun would be stopped by a ban on mailing firearms.

So, as the DOJ has declined to defend the 1927 statute, the AGs of Delaware, New Jersey, and New York asked a judge overseeing a legal challenge to this change (Shreve v. U.S. Postal Service) to allow them to defend the statute. As this was being written, the judge had yet to decide whether to allow these states to defend the federal statute. 

The proposal would not take effect immediately. It opens a 30-day public comment period, with submissions due by approximately May 2, 2026, via mail, email, or Regulations.gov. After review, the agency may finalize, revise, or withdraw the rule.

Practical implications for gun owners could be substantial. Law-abiding citizens might more easily ship handguns for repairs, inheritance, relocation, or sporting purposes without relying solely on private carriers, which maintain their own (often stricter) policies; of course, all shipments remain subject to federal state laws.

This Trump administration development reflects broader post-Bruen scrutiny of longstanding gun regulations. While the 1927 ban predates modern federal licensing, its Prohibition-era origins focused on curbing mail-order crime guns.

Club Calendar.

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING

Monday, May 4th – 7:30 pm

MONTHLY MEETING

Monday, May 4th – 8:00 pm

KID'S FISHING DERBY

Saturday, May 9th –10:00 am – 2:00 pm

VLS FISHING DERBY

Tuesday, May 12th –10:00 am – 1:00 pm

SKEET
Sundays: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
Wednesdays: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm.

TRAP

Tuesdays: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Saturdays: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

PISTOL
"Miss and You're Out!" Pistol Match, Saturday, April 18th, noon.

COWBOY
Cowboy Action Shooting Clinic, Saturday April 25th, 9:00 am.

SAFETY COURSE
Wednesday, May 5th –7:00 pm & Thursday, May 6th  – 7:00 pm Register here.

RANGE ORIENTATION CLASS
Sunday, April 19th – 9:00 am Register here.

…And Finally

The Mispronunciation of Hoppe’s.

When the company was formed, telephones were just starting to catch on and there were no other realistic means of audio communication. That means that if you didn’t know Frank Hoppe or his family, then it was unlikely you’ve ever heard the name pronounced. To this day the most common pronunciation of this is (“hops”) like a series of short jumps or the bitter ingredient used to make beer. However, it is pronounced (“hoppies”) like “hippies” but with an “O.”