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USPS proposed lifting handgun-mailing ban after DOJ opinion, benefiting retailer where Trump Jr. holds a stake

The U.S. Postal Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on April 2, 2026 to lift the 1927 federal prohibition on mailing handguns, acting on a Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion issued January 15, 2026 that found the ban unconstitutional as applied to handguns. The Washington Post later reported that Donald Trump Jr. holds more than 300,000 shares and a board seat in GrabAGun, an online firearms retailer whose business model depends on expanded ability to ship guns directly to buyers. Trump Jr.'s spokesperson and administration officials denied any influence over the policy change.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On April 2, 2026, the U.S. Postal Service published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to amend Publication 52 and lift the 1927 federal prohibition on mailing handguns, which would allow handguns to be shipped under the same conditions currently applied to rifles and shotguns. USPS stated it was acting on a Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel memorandum opinion dated January 15, 2026, which concluded that the mailing ban under 18 U.S.C. Section 1715 "is unconstitutional as applied to constitutionally protected firearms, including handguns," and directed the Postal Service to conform its regulations.

The Washington Post reported on July 2, 2026 that Donald Trump Jr. holds a direct financial stake in GrabAGun, an online firearms retailer marketed as an "Amazon of guns" whose business model depends on expanded ability to ship guns directly to buyers. Trump Jr. holds more than 300,000 shares, received via a 2025 consulting agreement, and joined GrabAGun's board as the company went public through a SPAC merger brought by 1789 Capital, an investment firm where Trump Jr. is a partner, netting the company $119 million. Corporate filings reportedly warned investors the business could suffer if Trump Jr. stopped promoting the company. A related proposed ATF rule easing direct-to- home firearm shipment was reported around the same period. Trump Jr.'s spokesperson and ATF officials denied any influence over the policy changes.

Why we recorded this

Public service over self-dealing: regulatory decisions are supposed to be made on their merits, not to benefit an official's family business interests. The Postal Service moved to lift a decades-old ban on mailing handguns, a change that stands to benefit a gun-retail company in which the president's son holds a substantial equity stake and a board seat. This archive records when the machinery of federal rulemaking intersects with a first family's undisclosed-to-the-public private financial interests.

Sources

  1. Revised Mailing Standards for Firearms — Federal Register primary accessed July 9, 2026
  2. DOJ Determines 1927 Prohibition on Mailing Handguns Violates Second Amendment — NRA-ILA secondary accessed July 9, 2026
  3. Plan to ease rules on mailing guns could help company Trump Jr. has stake in — The Washington Post investigative accessed July 9, 2026
  4. USPS Moves to Allow Handguns in the Mail. Here's What to Know. — The Trace investigative accessed July 9, 2026

See also