Florida Court Rules USPS Gun Ban Unconstitutional, USPS Maintains Existing Firearms Policy

In January 2023, a landmark ruling by a federal district court in Florida reinstated the right to bear arms on United States Postal Service (USPS) properties. The court declared the 1972 statute prohibiting firearms on USPS premises unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. However, this ruling presently affects only the specific case in Florida. Despite this, the USPS has communicated to its employees that its current policies remain unchanged.

The USPS has clarified in a statement that the recent court decision does not overturn the Postal Service's existing regulations regarding firearms. The organization underscored that the case in question pertained to a different federal statute and not the Postal Service's internal policies. Therefore, the ruling does not alter the USPS's stance on prohibiting employees from carrying or storing firearms and other potentially dangerous items on its properties. Violation of this policy could lead to disciplinary actions, including removal and possible legal consequences.

Federal News Network, a platform focused on government-related issues, quoted USPS spokesperson Jim McKean, who reiterated the Postal Service's commitment to regulating its facilities for public and employee safety. McKean noted that a 2015 federal court of appeals decision upheld a USPS regulation banning firearms on its properties. The Postal Service is currently assessing the relationship between this regulation and the broader federal criminal statute in light of the recent court ruling.

The case McKean referred to is Bonidy v. USPS, which was adjudicated in the Tenth Circuit. At that time, several circuits were interpreting the Second Amendment restrictively, often confining the Heller and McDonald decisions' applicability to private residences and subjecting them to intermediate scrutiny. The Tenth Circuit concluded that the regulation prohibiting firearms was constitutional, including in the parking lot of the Avon Post Office, considering it part of "government buildings."

The Supreme Court chose not to review this decision. Given the circumstances of the Court at the time, including the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and a lack of a reliable majority to uphold Second Amendment rights, the decision to forego this case was understandable.

Since then, significant developments have occurred, notably the election of Donald Trump as President and his appointment of three Supreme Court justices, potentially shifting the Court's stance on interpreting the Constitution. The recent Bruen decision reaffirms the originalist and textualist interpretation of the Second Amendment, as penned by Justice Clarence Thomas, emphasizing that restrictions on Second Amendment rights must align with norms accepted at the time of its ratification.

Given that federal restrictions on carrying weapons in post offices were only instituted in 1972, such prohibitions, as Judge Mizelle determined, are likely unconstitutional. However, federal employee restrictions may still be governed by labor laws and union agreements, marking a distinction in how these rulings apply.