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Post Office carry decided in court...

bobernet

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The entire District Court opinion is here.

Code:
Both Heller and Emerson [the 2001 Fifth Circuit case that anticipated the Heller individual rights ruling] ... make it clear that the “right to bear arms” –- albeit an individual fundamental right of all Americans secured by the Second Amendment –- is not unlimited....

The Property Clause of the United States Constitution grants Congress the right to regulate federal property. It provides: “The Congress shall have the Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the territory or other Property belonging to the United States....” 

The Fifth Circuit has routinely upheld federal regulations that are designed to promote workplace and public safety on government property....

Clearly, 39 C.F.R. § 232.1(1)[,] which bans possession of weapons solely on postal property is not unconstitutional as applied. Neither Heller nor Emerson involved gun control regulations banning possession of “arms” on federal property. Indeed, the Supreme Court in Heller described the District’s statute as a law that “totally bans handgun possession” extends to the home and “requires that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock at all times, rendering it inoperable.

The regulation at issue in this case is far more limited in application in that it (1) applies only on the confines of properly noticed postal property, (2) is sanctioned by both the Property and Postal Clauses of the U.S. Constitution and (3) falls within the Heller Court’s category and non-exhaustive list of excepted longstanding prohibitions on carrying firearms –- i.e., “sensitive places such as schools and government buildings.”

Indeed, federal law (OSHA) requires employers to abate workplace hazards and encourages employers to take measures to prevent gun-related injuries. Surely, the United States Postal Service would be remiss if it failed to practice what federal law requires. 

Without question, § 232.1(1) bolsters the United States Postal Service’s zero tolerance for workplace violence and is a regulation designed to maintain safety and order on postal property. 18 U.S.C. § 930 (a), which prohibits possession of dangerous weapons, serves the same purpose within federal facilities. 

Congress has the authority to regulate safety of the post office and its property, notwithstanding the individual right to bear arms in the home, “where the need for defense of self, family and property is most acute.”

The ban at issue does not affect the right of all individuals to bear arms at home or traveling in a vehicle to and from work through high crime areas. Its reach does not extend beyond the noticed, gated confines of United States Postal Services’ property. It is narrowly tailored to effect public and workplace safety solely on postal property consistent with the Property and Postal Clauses. 

Similarly, 18 U.S.C. § 930(a) criminalizes knowing possession of dangerous weapons, but only within the confines of a federal facility/building. Regulations forbidding the possession or carrying of firearms “in sensitive places” such as federal and/or postal property abound; these longstanding prohibitions have been upheld.
 

bobernet

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As a follow-up to this... it seems that this ruling goes even further than many here have considered. It has asserted that even having a gun in your car in the Post Office parking lot is illegal.
 

deepdiver

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Luckily there are more and more sources for postage and mailing outside of an actual post office. I haven't been to an actual post office for 3 years.
 

falcon1

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Jul 30, 2007
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, Tennessee, USA
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I apologize if I missed it...in which District Court was this decided?

ETA: Eastern Louisiana. May only apply to the Fifth Circuit, then; but as noted above, I'll just go to the local Pharmacy that also has a postal drop.
 

bobernet

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It's the 5th Circuit. The issue isn't really whether this is controlling nationwide (it's not), but expect other circuits to look to this for guidance. Also consider the benefits vs. the potential costs. A Federal felony conviction seems hardly worth saving a few dollars by going straight to the Post Office versus another venue for mailing/shipping.
 

JosephMingle

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Feb 18, 2008
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Yorktown VA
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deepdiver wrote:
Luckily there are more and more sources for postage and mailing outside of an actual post office. I haven't been to an actual post office for 3 years.
I do everything I can to avoid the post office. Seems every time I go to one, I have some kind of conflict (or must witness one).
 
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