By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—The U.S. Postal Service will begin shipping handguns; FY 2027 Budget – Pro–Second Amendment initiatives; Alabama: The legislature adjourned; California: Senate and House Committees hold hearings on anti-Second Amendment bills; Colorado: Governor Jared Polis signed SB26-004; Georgia: The legislature adjourned; Idaho: The legislature adjourned; Kentucky: Governor Beshear vetoesHB78 and HB312; New Hampshire: On April 14, HB1793 will be considered by the House Judiciary Committee; Maine: LD1009, a bill that would allow for gun rights restoration, could have a final vote as early as April 13; Maryland: SB334, a bill banning semi-automatic handguns, passed the legislature; Oklahoma: On April 14, the Senate Public Safety Committee will consider HB4125; Rhode Island: Last week, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing where they considered 17 bills. All bills were “held for further study;” Vermont: Senate Democrats want to add new Gun Free Zones toH600, Virginia: On April 10, Governor Abigail Spanberger signed SB27/HB21, and SB323/HB40; Trump DOJ versus Virginia Governor Spanberger; West Virginia: Governor Patrick Morrissey signed HB4106.
The U.S. Postal Service will begin shipping handguns
On Jan. 15, a memorandum opinion was issued by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in the U.S. Department of Justice that addressed the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 1715, the federal statute declaring certain firearms “nonmailable” through the U.S. Postal Service. The OLC opinion, titled “The constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 1715,” concludes that section 1715 is unconstitutional as applied to “constitutionally protected firearms,” including handguns, because it serves an illegitimate purpose and is inconsistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation under the Second Amendment, particularly as interpreted in the Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The opinion further states that the Department of Justice may not, consistent with the Constitution, enforce section 1715 with respect to such firearms, and expressly advises that the U.S. Postal Service should modify its regulations to conform to this constitutional analysis.
Although OLC memoranda operate within the executive branch rather than as judicial decisions, historically, OLC opinions have carried significant institutional weight, shaping how agencies interpret and apply federal statutes. In direct response to the OLC’s Jan. 15 opinion, the U.S. Postal Service has issued proposed revisions to its Publication 52 regulations, invoking section 1715 and explaining that, in light of OLC’s determination, it will expand the scope of “mailable firearms.” Under the proposed rules, lawful handguns would be treated like lawful rifles and shotguns, meaning they could be mailed by ordinary law‑abiding citizens, subject to conditions such as the firearm being unloaded and otherwise compliant with federal law. This marks a significant departure from prior practice, under which handguns could generally only be mailed by holders of Federal Firearms Licenses.
The memorandum was issued during Pam Bondi’s tenure as Attorney General and as a result of President Trump’s Second Amendment Executive Order. It is an incremental but major Second Amendment development: by recognizing that section 1715 impermissibly burdens the right to transport, receive, and maintain arms in common use for lawful purposes, the OLC opinion effectively compels the Postal Service to revise its regulations and enables individuals to mail handguns, for example, to themselves at another residence for lawful self‑defense. The date of this key executive‑branch action is Jan. 15, (the issuance of the OLC memorandum), and the later Postal Service notice of proposed rulemaking follows that opinion and is described as having been published within the last few days.
FY 2027 Budget – Pro–Second Amendment initiatives
President Trump’s proposed 2027 federal budget includes several specific pro–Second Amendment initiatives within the Department of Justice (DOJ). These items include a new Second Amendment office, rights‑restoration funding, and the reversal of Biden‑era ATF regulations. The proposal’s language commits to “definitely protect” the Second Amendment.
New Second Amendment office in the DOJ
- The budget allocates approximately $1.4 million to establish a dedicated Second Amendment unit within the DOJ Civil Rights Division, responsible for defending gun rights against unlawful infringement and pursuing landmark cases.
- The Trump formalization of this office into law would both institutionalize pro-2A enforcement within the DOJ and provide gun owners with a clear focal point to monitor and pressure for rights enforcement.
Rights restoration initiative
- Since Congress had effectively defunded ATF’s ability to restore rights for decades, the proposal demonstrates President Trump’s commitment to rights restoration.
- After the Trump–Bondi team in 2025 moved to “turn back on” this 925 program through rulemaking, Trump now included it in the budget and allocated about $4.8 million for the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s “firearms rights restoration initiative” to regain Second Amendment rights.
ATF and reversal of Biden‑era rules
- The budget is described as supporting ATF efforts to undo regulations from previous (Biden) administrations that effectively criminalized law-abiding gun ownership.
- Mark W. Smith, a Second Amendment attorney (@FourBoxesDiner on X.com and the Four Boxes Diner on YouTube.com), who reviews current judicial activity, lists the targeting of:
- universal‑background‑check requirements
- the pistol‑brace rule (especially affecting disabled veterans), “ghost gun” restrictions on homebuilt firearms,
- revocation of FFLs
- possibility of the restoration of wrongly pulled licenses
- meaningful pistol‑brace enforcement.
Enforcement focus and political context
- The proposal directs DOJ resources toward illegal firearms traffickers and violent actors (e.g., MS‑13), along with immigration enforcement, cartel/fentanyl interdiction, and prison security, even mentioning restoring Alcatraz.
State Legislatures
Legislatures adjourned sine die:
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
State legislatures not in session: Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas.
Alabama: The Alabama legislature adjourned.
California: At 10 a.m. today, the Senate Committee on Appropriations will consider SB948, a bill to expand California’s Firearm Safety Certificate, and on April 14, the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary will hear AB2047, a bill to put 3D printers under state control.
Colorado: Governor Jared Polis signed SB26-004, which expanded who can seek red flag laws.
Georgia: The legislature adjourned.
Idaho: The legislature adjourned.
Kentucky: Governor Andy Beshear vetoes HB78 and HB312.
New Hampshire: HB1793 will be considered by the House Judiciary Committee on April 14. This bill eliminates gun free areas on state-funded college and university properties.
Maine: LD1821, imposing costly burdens on FFLs, failed on a 85-63 vote. LD1009, a bill that would allow for the restoration of gun rights, could have a final vote as early as April 13.
Maryland: SB334, a bill banning semi-automatic handguns, passed the legislature and now goes to Governor Wes Moore.
Oklahoma: On April 14, the Senate Public Safety Committee will consider HB4125, which would create a method to restore gun rights.
Rhode Island: Last week, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to consider 17 bills. All bills were “held for further study” and remain active. Four of those 17 are extraordinarily anti-Second Amendment:
H.8071 Requires a background check for the purchase of ammunition
H.8073 A new gun rationing scheme
H.8075 A required insurance policy of $1,000,000 for any gun owner.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hold its own hearing on similar bills.
Vermont: Senate Democrats want to add new Gun Free Zones to H600, which had been revised to remove many of the burdensome provisions. Senator Philip Baruth is trying to reintroduce several of those provisions in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee might try to hold a second hearing on this bill.
Virginia: On April 10, Governor Abigail Spanberger signed SB27/HB21, requiring “responsible conduct” by all firearms businesses, and SB323/HB40, banning private firearms manufacturing. She has until April 13 to sign the rest of those passed this session. Otherwise, they all become law without her signature.
Trump DOJ versus Virginia Governor Spanberger
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who oversees the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, has officially warned Virginia Gov. Spanberger that the DOJ will sue the Commonwealth if she signs a series of gun control measures that the department considers unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. At the center of the DOJ’s objections is SB749, which Dhillon’s letter describes as an attempt to prevent law enforcement from permitting Virginians to make, buy, or sell AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles that are commonly used by civilians. The letter, framed as a demand for Virginia to “stand down,” states that Virginians are Americans with federally protected rights and that the DOJ will actively defend those rights in court if “unlawful legislation is enacted.”
Dhillon bases DOJ’s position on President Trump’s Executive Order 14206, which mandates the administration to actively defend Second Amendment rights. She emphasizes the creation of a dedicated Second Amendment Section within the Civil Rights Division that is already engaged in litigation nationwide. This section’s emerging legal theory, as reflected in the Virginia letter, is that AR‑15‑style rifles are fully protected “arms” because they are lawful, widely owned, and commonly purchased—points that DOJ connects to recent Supreme Court decisions. Specifically, DOJ cites the Court’s unanimous opinion in Smith & Wesson v. Mexico, which described AR‑15s as widely legal and purchased by many ordinary consumers, calling them
Beyond restrictions on semiautomatic rifles, Dhillon criticizes Virginia bills that would require firearms in homes to be stored in an inoperable state, explicitly comparing them to the storage mandate struck down in District of Columbia v. Heller. She argues that, under Heller and Bruen, governments can only prohibit “dangerous and unusual” weapons, and that the historical burden falls on the state, not individual gun owners, to justify bans.
In a commentary on the letter, Mark Smith, also known as Mark W. Smith, a Second Amendment attorney (@FourBoxesDiner on X.com and the Four Boxes Diner on YouTube.com), describes the DOJ’s move as a deliberate effort to gradually establish Supreme Court precedent against state-level “assault‑weapon” and storage laws.
West Virginia: Governor Patrick Morrissey signed HB4106.
