Attorney General James Takes Action to Protect New Yorkers from Illegal Guns

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined the attorneys general of New Jersey and Delaware to defend a longstanding federal law that keeps communities and postal workers safe from dangerous firearms. Section 1715 of the U.S. criminal code prevents using the United States Postal Service (USPS) to mail handguns and other firearms that can be concealed. In January 2026, the Trump administration’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion finding that Section 1715 violates the Second Amendment at least in some applications. The next day, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a legal filing in a pending lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Section 1715 and declined to defend the constitutionality of the nearly century-old law. Attorney General James and the coalition of attorneys general today filed a motion to intervene in the case, with a proposed motion for summary judgment seeking a ruling from the court dismissing the lawsuit. 

“Firearms trafficked from other states are a major source of gun violence in communities across New York,” said Attorney General James. “Laws like Section 1715 are critical to our efforts to stop the flood of dangerous weapons that are putting New Yorkers at risk. If the federal government won’t defend this law to keep people safe, we will.”  

In 1927, Congress passed Section 1715 to prevent the use of USPS to evade state and local gun laws and make it more difficult for criminals to get access to firearms. The law generally prohibits shipping concealable firearms through USPS, with an exception for federally licensed manufacturers and dealers. 

As Attorney General James and the coalition argue in their motion, overturning Section 1715 would significantly undermine public safety by making it harder for states to enforce gun safety laws and dramatically increasing costs for law enforcement. Eliminating the law would create a loophole that would make it easier for those who are prohibited by states from possessing firearms – including those with domestic violence restraining orders or in a mental health crisis – to obtain them. The USPS has no legal obligation to ensure the packages it ships comply with states’ gun safety laws. As a result, state law enforcement would have to spend significant resources creating entirely new investigative and tracking systems to address the unregulated mailing of concealable firearms, including ghost guns, through USPS. 

Attorney General James and the coalition argue in their motion for summary judgment that Section 1715 is constitutional and should be upheld. The law does not implicate the Second Amendment because it only regulates a particular method of transferring firearms, and does not restrict the right to “keep” or “bear” arms. In addition, the law follows a long history of regulations limiting what can be shipped via the Postal Service dating back to the founding era of the United States. 

As Attorney General James and the coalition explain, the Postal Service has restricted what can be mailed ever since its formal establishment in 1792. Until 1879, the Postal Service limited mail to either papers like letters, newspapers, and pamphlets, or to a list of “mailable” goods that excluded all firearms. When the Postal Service began permitting the mailing of pistols or revolvers in the late 1800s, postal workers were put in significant danger as loaded guns and explosives were regularly sent through the mail. Congress passed Section 1715 after the Postmaster General warned that permitting firearm shipping through the mail was allowing people to circumvent state and local gun laws. The law passed with overwhelming support in Congress, as well as the support of local law enforcement agencies in cities across the country, including the New York City Police Department (NYPD).  

Attorney General James and the attorneys general of Delaware and New Jersey today filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit and a motion for summary judgment, urging the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to dismiss the lawsuit and uphold the constitutionality of Section 1715. 

Attorney General James has consistently taken action to protect New Yorkers from gun violence and illegal firearms. In February, Attorney General James announced a settlement to stop the sale of a gun accessory that aided the Buffalo shooter in 2022. In January, Attorney General James announced the indictment of the owner of Indie Guns for shipping firearms, ghost guns, and firearm parts and accessories to New York. In October 2024, Attorney General James announced the takedown of a major gun trafficking operation in Queens. In March 2024, Attorney General James secured a $7.8 million judgment against Indie Guns for illegally selling ghost gun components in New York. The judgment was the result of a 2022 lawsuit against Indie Guns and other national gun manufacturers for selling and shipping ghost gun components to New Yorkers. Through gun buyback events and other enforcement efforts, Attorney General James has taken more than 9,600 guns off New York streets. 

For New York, this matter is being handled by Special Counsel James Thompson of the Division of State Counsel, Special Counsel Molly Thomas-Jensen of the Executive Division, Assistant Solicitor General Danny Li, and Deputy Solicitor General Ester Murdukhayeva of the Division of Appeals and Opinions, with assistance from Legal Aide Alex Pan and Senior Librarians Samuel Braden and Christina Penseiro. The Division of Appeals and Opinions is overseen by Solicitor General Barbara Underwood. Both the Division of State Counsel and the Executive Division are overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.