Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Shipping Companies Prohibit the Lawful Shipping of Firearms

Monday, September 19, 2022

Shipping Companies Prohibit the Lawful Shipping of Firearms

Wondering what federal law says regarding individuals who do not have a Federal Firearms License (FFL) that need to ship firearms? Well, if you go to the website for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), select the Resources pull-down menu, and click on the Firearms option under Q&A, you will find links to a number of categories, although “shipping firearms” is not one of them. But you can find the information by clicking on the “Unlicensed Persons” link.

Once there, you will find that the ATF says, regarding shipping firearms NOT through the United States Postal Service (USPS):

A nonlicensee may ship a firearm by a common or contract carrier to a resident of his or her or her own state or to a licensee in any state. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.

In addition, federal law requires that the carrier be notified that the shipment contains a firearm or ammunition, prohibits common or contract carriers from requiring or causing any label to be placed on any package indicating that it contains a firearm and requires obtaining written acknowledgement of receipt.

[18 U.S.C. 922(a)(2)(A), 922(a)(5), 922(e) and (f); 27 CFR 478.30 and 478.31]

ATF also states, regarding mailing firearms via USPS:

A nonlicensee may not transfer a firearm to a non-licensed resident of another state. A nonlicensee may mail a shotgun or rifle to a resident of their own state or to a licensee in any state.

The U.S. Postal Service recommends that long guns be sent by registered mail and that no marking of any kind which would indicate the nature of the contents be placed on the outside of any parcel containing firearms.

Handguns are not mailable. A common or contract carrier must be used to ship a handgun.

[18 U.S.C. 1715, 922(a)(5) and 922 (a)(2)(A); 27 CFR 478.31]

Clearly, there are a number of options for non-FFLs to lawfully ship their firearms. Or, rather, there were.

The two largest US common carriers, United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (FedEx), recently decided they would no longer allow non-FFLs to use their service for lawfully shipping firearms.

The FedEx website states, under How to Ship Firearms:

Only customers holding a Federal Firearms License (FFL) and federal, state, or local government agencies may ship firearms with FedEx. 

UPS, on the other hand, has taken a far more extreme approach to restricting the lawful shipping of items via its service. Under the heading How To Ship Firearms, UPS states:

Shipments containing Firearm Products are accepted for transportation only from shippers who are federally licensed and have an approved UPS agreement for the transportation of Firearm Products.

Digging a little deeper, one finds that UPS defines “Firearm Products” to include “Firearm Parts,” which it explains are:

“Firearm Part” is any part or component of a Firearm that does not by itself meet the definition of a “Firearm.” By way of example only, Firearm Parts include, but are not limited to, barrels, stocks, grips, firing pins, sights, and magazines/clips.

For some reason, UPS has decided that scopes are not considered a “Firearm Product,” so they are allowed to be shipped by anyone. Why sights are specifically listed as prohibited, while scopes are not, is somewhat of a mystery, considering they serve the same general purpose on a firearm.

It would seem that UPS is trying to signal to the anti-gun crowd that it is willing to deliver the goods (pun intended) when adopting policies aimed at imposing more strict regulations on shipping firearms and firearm-related items than federal law requires.

A recent article from Ammoland.com indicates UPS wants to not just shut out non-FFLs from using its service, but is also targeting many, if not most, FFLs. According to the article, UPS has told FFLs that operate online that they would have to “ship an average of 50 handguns daily to use its 2nd Day Air service.”

The article goes on to state, “The volume necessary means that most online retailers and manufacturers are now cut off from shipping guns through the carrier unless the handgun is shipped using the expensive Next Day Air service.”

Anti-gun organizations have been pressuring UPS (along with, presumably, FedEx) to sever ties with the firearms industry, according to the article.

In fact, a July Ammoland article had earlier exposed UPS apparently caving to the anti-gun agenda. The shipping company not only cancelled the account of a Florida retailer that specialized in parts that can be used to build firearms, but UPS told the retailer that any of its products that were in the shipper’s system “may be seized and destroyed.”

For decades, anti-gun extremists have regularly failed to achieve their goal of completely eviscerating the Second Amendment through legislation. With landmark Second Amendment cases like Heller, McDonald, and Bruen, courts have been striking down many of the obvious infringements on the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and we expect that trend to continue. Based on the actions of the anti-gun movement, they expect the same.

With legislative victories few and far between, and doom for the gun control agenda on the horizon in the courts, we can only anticipate a heightened pressure campaign on businesses like UPS and FedEx from anti-gun extremists. Anti-gun billionaires like Mike Bloomberg and George Soros will do everything they can to assist in these efforts; utilizing their unique access to their fellow elites in any number of industries who can make business decisions designed to undermine the Second Amendment through the private sector.

For now, there are still avenues available for the lawful shipping of firearms by non-FFLs, either through USPS, or an FFL that has not had all of its shipping accounts cancelled by an activist shipping company. Come the midterm elections, unless we vote in pro-Second Amendment candidates to Congress, that could change. If Joe Biden is given a Congress completely controlled by anti-gun extremists like U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who knows what anti-gun laws they will be able to impose on law-abiding gun owners?

Every election matters, but this year’s midterms matter more than any in recent memory. Make sure you are prepared to work harder than ever to elect supporters of the Second Amendment come Election Day, November 8.

IN THIS ARTICLE
shipping a firearm UPS FedEx USPS
TRENDING NOW
Biden’s ATF Runs Wild in His Waning Days, Targets Second Amendment Activist

News  

Monday, January 6, 2025

Biden’s ATF Runs Wild in His Waning Days, Targets Second Amendment Activist

Joe Biden is less than three weeks away from retiring as arguably the worst president of the modern era. 

The Great Canadian Gun Grab – The End is Near?

News  

Monday, January 6, 2025

The Great Canadian Gun Grab – The End is Near?

As we noted in a previous alert, in early December Canada’s governing Liberal Party announced 324 more models and “variants” of firearms had been added to the list of banned “military grade assault weapons” initially ...

Good News, Bad News on ATF Director Dettelbach

News  

Monday, January 6, 2025

Good News, Bad News on ATF Director Dettelbach

It’s really just good news to report that Joe Biden’s director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Steven Dettelbach, has announced his resignation.  

Shocker! Joe Biden Exercises Presidential Authority to Expand Access to Firearms

News  

Monday, December 23, 2024

Shocker! Joe Biden Exercises Presidential Authority to Expand Access to Firearms

No, that is not a headline from a satirical news site. Indeed, it may come as a surprise to many (and perhaps even to the man himself), but Joe Biden has in two short days ...

Illinois: Gun Seizure Mandate Inserted Into Bill, Take Action Now!

Monday, January 6, 2025

Illinois: Gun Seizure Mandate Inserted Into Bill, Take Action Now!

Gun control advocates are taking advantage of the lame duck session to pass a gun seizure mandate with little time for public input or debate. Contact your senator using the take action button below and urge ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to California Gun Show Restrictions

Friday, January 3, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to California Gun Show Restrictions

Yesterday, the NRA filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a challenge to California laws that effectively ban gun shows held on state property.

Colorado: Anti-Gun Legislators Prepare Latest Attempt at "Assault Weapon" Ban

Monday, January 6, 2025

Colorado: Anti-Gun Legislators Prepare Latest Attempt at "Assault Weapon" Ban

As the Colorado State Legislature prepares to begin the 2025 session this coming Wednesday, anti-gun legislators have already started working on a new semi-automatic firearm ban.

Michigan: Anti-Gun Legislation Passed in the Middle of the Night Heads To Governor’s Desk

Friday, December 20, 2024

Michigan: Anti-Gun Legislation Passed in the Middle of the Night Heads To Governor’s Desk

With the sun setting on the 2023-2024 legislative session, yesterday the Michigan Senate held a marathon session lasting over 24 hours. While citizens were sleeping, anti-gun lawmakers were able to pass two pieces of legislation, ...

U.S. Supreme Court Lets Hawaii Off With a Warning … For Now

News  

Monday, December 23, 2024

U.S. Supreme Court Lets Hawaii Off With a Warning … For Now

Last February, we reported on the judicial equivalent of a temper tantrum emanating from the Hawaii Supreme Court over the U.S. Supreme Court’s Second Amendment jurisprudence. 

Canada Announces New Gun Bans, More Gun Control on the Horizon

News  

Monday, December 9, 2024

Canada Announces New Gun Bans, More Gun Control on the Horizon

On December 5, at a late afternoon press conference in Ottawa, Canada’s federal Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced that 324 additional makes and variants of rifles would be added to the 2020 list of ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.