New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with attorneys general from New Jersey and Delaware, has taken steps to defend a federal law that prohibits mailing handguns and other concealable firearms through the United States Postal Service (USPS). The coalition filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit challenging Section 1715 of the U.S. criminal code after the Trump administration’s Office of Legal Counsel found that Section 1715 may violate the Second Amendment, and the Department of Justice declined to defend it.
Section 1715, enacted in 1927, generally bans shipping concealable firearms via USPS except for federally licensed manufacturers and dealers. The law was originally designed to prevent people from using USPS to avoid state and local gun laws. Overturning this law could make it more difficult for states to enforce gun safety measures and increase costs for law enforcement agencies. If Section 1715 were eliminated, individuals prohibited from owning firearms—including those under domestic violence restraining orders or experiencing mental health crises—could potentially obtain guns through unregulated mail shipments.
Attorney General James said, “Firearms trafficked from other states are a major source of gun violence in communities across New York. 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.”
The motion argues that Section 1715 is constitutional because it regulates only one method of transferring firearms and does not restrict the right to own or carry arms. The coalition also noted that restrictions on what can be mailed have existed since the formal establishment of the Postal Service in 1792. Congress passed Section 1715 following warnings about criminals circumventing local laws by mailing guns.
Attorney General James and her counterparts asked the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to dismiss the lawsuit against Section 1715.
James has previously acted against illegal firearms in New York through settlements, indictments, takedowns of trafficking operations, and judgments against companies selling ghost gun components. Her office reports removing over 9,600 guns from New York streets through buybacks and enforcement actions.
The New York Attorney General’s office is led by Letitia James as head attorney according to its official website. The agency promotes social justice, protects public safety, defends civil rights, upholds consumer protections, preserves the environment (source), operates regional offices statewide (source), investigates consumer frauds and oversees charities (source), mediates tenant disputes (source), and serves as a public legal advocacy organization for New York (source).
Special Counsel James Thompson, Special Counsel Molly Thomas-Jensen, Assistant Solicitor General Danny Li, Deputy Solicitor General Ester Murdukhayeva, Legal Aide Alex Pan, Senior Librarians Samuel Braden and Christina Penseiro worked on this matter for New York. Oversight comes from Solicitor General Barbara Underwood and First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
