CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a multistate coalition of 22 attorneys general, opposed an unlawful proposal by the U.S. Postal Service to allow individuals to send certain firearms by mail, endangering the public and harming state and local budgets.
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For almost 100 years, federal law has barred the Postal Service from mailing certain concealable firearms, and that statute has stood without any court finding it invalid. In January 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion that the statute is unconstitutional and stated it will no longer enforce it. The DOJ also instructed the Postal Service to issue conforming regulations. On April 2, the Postal Service published a proposed rule to conform with the DOJ opinion.
“I join my fellow attorneys general in strongly opposing this proposed rule, which would undermine our state laws to combat gun violence,” Raoul said. “The proposed rule would open a new gap through which guns which are prohibited in Illinois could enter our state, and could provide people prohibited from owning firearms with a new way to access them.” From my city of Chicago to Peoria, Rockford, East St. Louis, Danville, and every community in between, gun violence impacts all of Illinois, and such unchecked access to guns would be disastrous for all of our communities.”
Raoul and the coalition’s comment letter explains that the longstanding federal law restricting mailing firearms via the Postal Service is constitutional, and the executive branch cannot unilaterally permit conduct that Congress has prohibited since 1927. The letter also adds that allowing individuals to send firearms through the mail without going through a licensed seller will make it easier for prohibited persons like felons and domestic abusers to access firearms, including illegal firearms. It will also make it more difficult and more expensive for states to solve gun crimes, reducing the effectiveness of law enforcement tracing tools.
Today’s letter outlines the danger and the significant impact to states if this rule took effect. Unlike private carriers, the Postal Service recognizes no statutory obligation to ensure the packages it carries comply with state laws on the acquisition or transfer of firearms, creating a loophole in state laws. The types of guns that might be mailed across state lines could even include those prohibited by state laws.
Attorney General Raoul was joined by the Attorneys General of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
