Bruen Strikes Again: Ban on Guns in Post Offices Tossed Out, Ruled Unconstitutional

Thanks to a decision by a federal judge in Florida on Friday, American citizens who are legally carrying concealed sidearms can no longer be barred from carrying inside a United States Post Office — buildings that are a quasi-part of the federal government and, in effect, the property of the American people.

 A federal judge in Florida on Friday ruled that a U.S. law that bars people from possessing firearms in post offices is unconstitutional, citing a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling from 2022 that expanded gun rights.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump in Tampa, reached that conclusion in dismissing part of an indictment charging a postal worker with illegally possessing a gun in a federal facility.

If there is anywhere, honestly, that the Bill of Rights applies, it should be in federal buildings and federal installations. Oh, there’s an argument to be made for barring carry in the Capitol, the White House, in courthouses, and so on – but those are places that are already secured by armed law enforcement (when they aren’t throwing the doors open for “insurrectionists.”) The post offices, not so much. Most post office buildings are pretty small, often crowded, and until now, “gun-free” zones. In other words, target-rich environments for would-be mass shooters.

This ruling is another victory for pro-Second Amendment activists, and once more, we have NY State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen to thank for it.

Mizelle said that charge violated Emmanuel Ayala’s right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, saying “a blanket restriction on firearms possession in post offices is incongruent with the American tradition of firearms regulation.”

She declined to dismiss a separate charge for forcibly resisting arrest. Ayala’s lawyer and a U.S. Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

The decision marked the latest court decision declaring a gun restriction unconstitutional following the conservative-majority Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

Things in the last year or two sure seem to be swinging in favor of the Second Amendment, although the pro-gun community should not take any time to rest on its laurels.

Now that this ruling is in place – assuming it goes nationwide and survives any possible appeal to the Supreme Court – it would be interesting to see it as a precedential springboard into other federal facilities, such as (especially) military bases. Military bases in particular should be removed from the federal “gun-free zone” list; military members are in the profession of arms, and they are charged with enormous responsibility. It’s common to have an 18-year-old soldier, when on duty, handling and firing a weapon as formidable as a .50 caliber machine gun, and yet is prohibited from possessing a personal firearm on base. That makes little sense; in light of several publicized incidents on military bases in recent years, it would make more sense to have every officer and non-commissioned officer issued a sidearm to be carried loaded at all times when in uniform.

Post offices, granted, are a different kettle of fish. But now, at least, this decision recognizes that the Second Amendment rights of the citizenry are not negated by some bureaucrat mandating that every such building be a free-fire zone for would-be mass shooters. Self-defense is a fundamental human right, and now that right has been confirmed yet again.