US Postal Service Still Keeping Cards Close on Carry Case

A federal court found that the possession of firearms on some United States Postal Service properties is unconstitutional. They’ve yet to issue a public statement, but have acknowledged the ruling.

Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation challenged the federal prohibition on carriage and possession at U.S. post offices. A federal court has ruled that the prohibitions are unconstitutional. The opinion was narrowed to organizational plaintiffs; the government sought to weaken the ruling by limiting it to named plaintiffs at the time of filing only. The USPS has yet to make a public statement, change their posters, or address this without request for comment.

The USPS has now thrice addressed the matter of carry on some Postal Service properties when queried. In the wake of the court’s ruling in Firearms Policy Coalition Inc, et.al. v. Bondi, readers and people on social media have been commenting about how their local post office and/or postmaster were unaware of the change in the law.

One reader wrote in saying the postal workers he spoke with did not even know that permitted carry was even legal in the State of New Jersey, never mind the post office. When he followed up with the postmaster, he reported a similar level of cluelessness.

In response to Bearing Arms’ request for more information, USPS has remained semi-tightlipped about the ruling. Considering the decision was at the end of Sept. 2025, the government should cede a little control on the issue.

While requesting a comment, it was pointed out to USPS officials that the postal workers and postmasters themselves not knowing about the ruling is a safety hazard for the law-abiding carrier. FPC and SAF members who wish to exercise their Second Amendment right are in peril if the staff of these locations aren’t aware of what is or is not allowed.

Sr. Public Relations Representative Jim McKean responded to the most recent request for more information.

“The Postal Service is aware of the recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas regarding the ban on firearms possession on postal property, which enjoins enforcement of the ban at certain Post Offices, and the surrounding Post Office property, with respect to certain postal customers,” McKean said in an email. “The Postal Service is currently analyzing the court’s decision and taking necessary steps to implement the injunction.”

McKean further explained that was all the information that he had at the time. Formerly, the USPS did acknowledge the ruling when asked for comment. McKean’s response was exactly the same as the one Bearing Arms received early Oct. 2025.

Nothing has changed in over three months.

The continued ignorance of postal workers is an interesting scenario. In early Nov. 2025, Bearing Arms validated a leaked internal document that addressed the carriage of firearms on some USPS properties. It was alleged to have been sent out to all USPS postmasters.

That leaked document stated:

A federal court order currently permits certain postal customers to carry and possess firearms at most Post Offices, including in customer parking lots. In response to that decision, and while we work to clarify the precise scope of the court’s order, we are providing the following guidance to all our retail employees at all Postal Service retail facilities, regarding all of our customers at those facilities.

Because of this decision, there may be instances in which members of the public who are visiting Postal Service retail facilities to pick up their mail, or conduct a retail transaction, will be carrying firearms. Postal Service Employees are directed to refrain from confronting or engaging with the customer about the fact that they are carrying a firearm.

Postal Service employees should allow the customer to conduct their business in the same manner as other customers. Once the customer leaves, immediately report the matter to your supervisor or manager.

Management employees should immediately call the Inspection Service hotline at 1-877-876-2455. The Inspection Service will determine whether the ban on firearms possession can lawfully be enforced under the circumstances, and whether further action is justified. Calls to local enforcement (911) should only be made if the person is interfering with operations or if the customer is acting in a manner that raises immediate safety or security concerns.

The court’s decision does not affect the ban on firearms possession by Postal Service employees on postal property, which remains fully in place. Employees are reminded that carrying or storing firearms on Postal Service property is prohibited and can result in discipline, up to and including removal from the Postal Service. The prohibition on employee possession of firearms also means that storing firearms in vehicles that are parked on postal property is also prohibited.

Thank you for your attention.

When asked for comment and for the government to authenticate the document, USPS Senior Public Relations Representative Felicia Lott Responded. Lott said, “USPS confirms that the Service Talk is an internal employee document and refers back to its previous statement for request of any additional comment.”

The government filed for an appeal in early December. 

In the government’s subsequent reply to FPC and SAF’s opposition to the court delivering more clarity on the opinion, their brief says that “the Court’s judgment is vague, unworkable, and conflicts with principles of standing and equity.” The government further alleges that “unless the Court’s injunction is limited only to members of the organizational Plaintiffs when the operative complaint was filed, the scope of the final judgment is constantly changing and fluctuating.”

Tripling down, the government asked for the court to have any further decisions “held in abeyance pending the Supreme Court’s decisions in Wolford v. Lopez …”

With the court’s opinion noting that the prohibition is unconstitutional and the government not seeking review at that time with the U.S. Supreme Court, these moves are perplexing. It’s either the position of the Department of Justice that the opinion is sound, or it’s not. From analyzing every move post opinion at the circuit court, there appears to be no deference paid to the side of freedom. Further, none of this is helpful for the everyday carrier who wants to exercise their right.

Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

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