By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—Trump Administration: BATFE federal agents are being used to combat street crime by the Trump Administration; Department of Justice (DOJ) Notice of Intent to Withdraw an Appeal; Politics: Colorado: Michael Farrand Bennet running for Governor in 2026; California: The legislature returns for its final month of the 2025 legislative session with three bills still viable; Oklahoma: Governor Kevin Stitt on Monday, Aug. 11, held a signing ceremony for Senate Bill 500.
Trump Administration
BATFE federal agents are being used to combat street crime by the Trump Administration.
On Aug. 7, President Donald Trump ordered that the federal law enforcement begin patrolling D.C. streets for seven days, starting Aug. 8, targeting high-traffic tourist areas and crime “hotspots.” Four days later, he formalized the takeover through an Executive Order (EO), declaring a “public safety emergency” and deploying 800 D.C. National Guard troops to support law enforcement with logistical and administrative tasks.
Trump’s EO specified federal control of the MPD for the “maximum period permitted” under the Home Rule Act, which is 30 days (until Sept. 10) unless Congress grants an extension. About 500 federal law enforcement officers from agencies like the FBI, ATF, DEA, ICE, and U.S. Marshals Service were also deployed in addition to federal troops for active patrols. The inclusion of the ATF in the order is positive for Second Amendment supporters and is the focus of a new YouTube video by Mark W. Smith of the Four Boxes Diner. He strongly supports the use of ATF personnel, believing it keeps ATF agents engaged in productive tasks rather than targeting gun owners or dealers.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Notice of Intent to Withdraw an Appeal
On Aug. 15, Solicitor General John Saur filed a notice of intent to withdraw the U.S. Government’s appeal in this case. Thus, Judge Mizelle’s opinion is now a part of Second Amendment jurisprudence. The letter that Saur sent to the U.S. Congress reads:
“The defendant is an employee of the United States Postal Service who carried a handgun on the job for self-defense. One day, he entered a post office while wearing a bag containing the handgun. A federal grand jury indicted the defendant on one count of possessing a firearm in a federal facility, in violation of 18 U.S.C.930(a), and one count of resisting arrest, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 111. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida dismissed the Section 930(a) charge, holding that the statute violates the Second Amendment as applied here.
“The Department of Justice appealed this decision to the Eleventh Circuit but has now decided to dismiss the appeal. The resisting-arrest charge against the defendant remains pending. Dismissing that appeal would enable the district court to resolve that charge promptly, while pursuing the appeal could significantly prolong this litigation. The Department has determined that, in these circumstances, continuing to pursue the appeal is not an appropriate use of prosecutorial resources.”
United States v. Ayala::8:22-cv-00369: This case was decided in the Middle District of Florida by Judge Kathryn Kimball, when on Feb. 2, 2024, she dismissed the indictment against Emmanuel Ayala, a postal employee and truck driver charged with carrying a handgun in a post office under 18 U.S.C. § 930(a) and related postal regulation. She ruled the ban unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, applying the Supreme Court’s Bruen test, finding no sufficient historical precedent for banning firearms in post offices, distinguishing them from “sensitive places” like courthouses or schools. Judge Mizelle, in her ruling, wrote about guns and the Post Office:
“Since the Post Office’s creation, mail carriers have faced the risk of violence. Passengers of nineteenth-century stagecoaches, which carried mail, “risked death or injury if coaches were attacked by robbers or Indians.” Recognizing this reality, Congresses in the first half of the nineteenth century appropriated money to reward individuals who helped apprehend posta robbers.
“In the latter half of the nineteenth century, when locomotive became the dominant way to move mail, bandits threatened postal workers aboard trains. Yet the federal government never sought to ban firearms to protect employees or secure mail delivery. In fact, when mail train robberies became a growing threat in the early twentieth century, the Postmaster General armed railway mail clerks with “government-issued pistols” from World War I. Although the “general societal problem[s]” of violence directed towards postal employees and threats to mail delivery “ha(ve) persisted since” at least the founding, there is a “lack of distinctly similar historical regulation addressing that problem.”
The Biden DOJ appealed this decision to the Eleventh Circuit on February 14, 2024. On June 28, the Biden DOJ filed a request for oral argument in which it stated: “The district court wrongly held that the Second Amendment prevents the government from prohibiting postal employees from bringing firearms into post offices where they work.”
Eleventh Circuit: On Dec. 9, 2024, after the Presidential election, the DOJ filed a reply brief arguing in favor of the federal law. On June 2, oral argument was scheduled for Sept. 12.
Amicus Briefs: On July 3, 2024, Everytown for Gun Safety filed an amicus brief supporting the government. In September 2024, an amicus brief was filed by California Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Second Amendment Law Center, Inc., and the Second Amendment Foundation. The National Rifle Association and the Firearms Policy Coalition filed the final amicus briefs.
Strong likelihood that Judge Mizelle is on a short list for SCOTUS
Background on Judge Mizelle: She is a Floridian and was appointed by President Trump in 2020, and was his youngest lifetime judicial appointee. From 2012 to 2013, she clerked for Judge James S. Moody Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. She then clerked for Judge William H. Pryor Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from 2013 to 2014 and for Justice Clarence Thomas. She authored a ruling in 2022 striking down the CDC’s federal mask mandate for public transportation and ruled in January 2024 in another case on firearms in post offices, before she ruled identically in Ayala.
Background on Federal legislation regarding handguns in Post Offices.
- 1927: Mailing of Firearms Act (Public Law 69-583, enacted February 8, 1927): This was the first major federal law addressing handguns in postal contexts. It banned the mailing of concealable firearms (including handguns) through the USPS, except for shipments between licensed dealers, manufacturers, or government entities.
- 1938: Federal Firearms Act (FFA, Public Law 75-785, enacted June 30, 1938): While primarily regulating interstate commerce in firearms, it reinforced mailing bans by requiring licenses for dealers and prohibiting shipments to prohibited persons. It indirectly supported postal restrictions on handguns but did not impose possession bans in post offices.
- 1968: Gun Control Act (GCA, Public Law 90-618, enacted October 22, 1968): Enacted amid rising violent crime and assassinations (e.g., of President Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Senator Robert Kennedy), the GCA expanded federal oversight. It codified mailing prohibitions under 18 U.S.C. § 1715, making it a felony to mail pistols or revolvers (handguns) except for licensed transfers, law enforcement, or certain official purposes.
- 1972: USPS Conduct on Postal Property Regulation (39 C.F.R. § 232.1, promulgated 1972): As part of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-375), the USPS issued rules governing behavior on its properties. Section 232.1(l) explicitly prohibits carrying firearms, including handguns (openly or concealed), on “postal property,” defined as all real property under USPS control, including buildings, grounds, parking lots, and surrounding spaces. Exceptions apply only for official purposes, such as law enforcement. This regulation made violations subject to fines or removal, but initially lacked federal criminal penalties beyond trespassing. It was renewed and upheld in later challenges, emphasizing post offices as sensitive federal spaces.
- 1986: Enactment of 18 U.S.C. § 930 (via Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, Public Law 99-570, Title I, § 1006(a), enacted October 27, 1986): This statute criminalized the knowing possession of firearms, including handguns, in “federal facilities,” defined as buildings or parts thereof owned or leased by the federal government where employees perform official duties—explicitly including post offices. It made violations a misdemeanor (up to one year imprisonment and fines), with enhanced penalties for intent to commit a crime. Exceptions include law enforcement officers, authorized federal personnel, and lawful hunting. The law applies to surrounding spaces if part of the facility (e.g., leased grounds). This complemented the 1972 USPS regulation by adding federal prosecutorial teeth. Subsequent Amendments to § 930:
- 1990 (Crime Control Act, Public Law 101-647, enacted November 29, 1990): Added distinctions for “federal court facilities” (e.g., courthouses), requiring posted notices and applying the ban to those spaces. It clarified that the law applies post-enactment and extends to surrounding areas like parking lots if under federal control.
- 1994 (Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, Public Law 103-322, enacted September 13, 1994): Enhanced penalties for killings or attempts in federal facilities, indirectly strengthening handgun bans by increasing deterrence.
- Later Amendments (1996, 2001, 2008): Technical corrections and expansions, such as including “dangerous weapons” alongside firearms (2008, Public Law 110-177) and adding conspiracy provisions (2001, USA PATRIOT Act, Public Law 107-56). These did not alter the core handgun ban in post offices but refined enforcement.
Politics
Colorado: In 2026, there will be an election for Governor in the state of Colorado, as the current governor is term-limited. Senator Michael Farrand Bennet, the current Democrat U.S. Senator from Colorado, has announced that he is running for Governor. Senator Bennet has never met a gun law that he did not love.
State Legislatures
The following states are still in SESSION:
California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin
Oklahoma: Governor Kevin Stitt, on Monday, Aug. 11, held a signing ceremony for Senate Bill 500. This new law will stop discrimination against the firearms industry across Oklahoma if companies are doing or desire to do business with the state. As we mentioned in last week’s Grassroots Legislative alert, President Trump is leading the charge to stop financial institutions from debanking the firearms industry, a practice begun during the Obama administration.
Texas: This past legislative session, gun turn-in programs became illegal in the state of Texas. The law is set to take effect on September 1, 2025. On Saturday, Aug. 16, Jackie Butler, an El Paso County Commissioner, “spearheaded” a gun buyback program. Let’s hope this misguided effort is safer than the program run by the “Maine Gun Safety Coalition,” where a loaded muzzle-loading firearm was negligently discharged during the buy-back.
