Mundane DOJ Memo on Post Office Gun Bans Is Actually Bigger Deal Than You Think

The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) informed Attorney General Todd Blanche Wednesday that under current law, firearms were not banned in post offices under a broad exception covering many who carry concealed.

Federal district courts have issued conflicting rulings, with the Trump administration previously electing to drop an appeal of a district court ruling that found the ban unconstitutional after the Supreme Court’s Wolford decision.

In the memo, the OLC advised Blanche that the provisions of 18 USC 930, one of the more commonly used statutes to justify a ban on carrying guns in United States Postal Service (USPS) buildings, contained an exemption that applied to those who lawfully carry firearms for lawful purposes including self-defense self-defense, removing the threat of criminal prosecution for having a gun inside a post office or on USPS property.

“Congress has exempted the ‘lawful carrying’ ֻof firearms or other dangerous weapons ‘incident to hunting or other lawful purposes,’” the OLC memo says. “Because carrying arms for self-defense when entering a building held open to the ֻpublic is a ֻparadigmatic ‘lawful purpose,’ that exception permits the lawful carrying of constitutionally protected firearms in post offices.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) made its position known in a July filing with the Fifth Circuit that dropped the appeal, allowing a nationwide injunction issued in September 2025 blocking enforcement of the carry ban, to stand.

The decision comes one day after the DOJ allowed an injunction against the enforcement of certain provisions of the National Firearms Act (NFA) by declining to appeal a ruling that found restrictions on suppressors and other items unconstitutional because the removal of associated taxes ended any connection with raising revenue, marking a significant victory for gun-rights advocates.

Although certain Second Amendment supporters have voiced dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s defense of specific gun regulations, such as the NFA, against legal challenges, a senior administration official informed the DCNF that these criticisms were unwarranted.

“I understand people have policy differences with DOJ’s enforcement of federal laws, but, in my opinion, and I’ve said this to many gun groups, the appropriate place to launch those policy discussions is in Congress, not with us,” Assistant Attorney General for Civil Right Harmeet Dhillon told the DCNF during a June interview.

“We have, I mean, not me, but other people in this building regularly respond to all kinds of litigation on behalf of the United States where I don’t necessarily agree with what we’re defending.”

The DOJ issued a memo in April questioning a ban on mailing firearms, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, prompting the USPS to prepare new regulations to allow the mailing of firearms.

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