Shipping Firearms

American Handgunner, July, 2001 by Shane Gericke

WE UNTANGLE THE MAZE OF RED TAPE (AND RED LABELS) AROUND THE VARIOUS REGULATIONS OF THE VARIOUS SHIPPING COMPANIES.

The owner of my local pack 'n' ship became visibly upset when she realized what the word "Glock" in the mailing instructions meant.

"Is this a gun?" she asked,

"Well, yes," I answered, since I'd have to tell her anyway for insurance purposes. "Is that a problem?"

"Yes! We can't ship it."

Well, that was a head-scratcher. I know UPS charges a king's ransom to ship a handgun via its mandatory Super Duper Brown Kryptonite Next Day Air, but they usually don't reject any sort of freight outright, as there's money to be made. I explained all that patiently.

"UPS says no guns," she said, having none of it. "We can't take them. We're not allowed."

But the Brown Kryptonite Next Day...

"By any class of shipment. And our association emphasized to all of us just last week..."

"Take no guns," I sighed, getting the drift. So I drove to a rival pack 'n' ship down the street, figuring if Mom says no, ask Dad.

"Can't do UPS," the clerk said. Before I could launch the Brown Kryptonite, he added, "FedEx'll take it, though, no problem."

"OK," I said, relieved someone wanted my money. "How much?"

He weighed the itsy-bitsy package-- a Glock sans ammo is hardly anything--checked the address, then a chart, then blew out a little air like he was surprised, too. "Forty-four."

I about swallowed my tongue. "Dollars?"

"Yep. Plus four dollars for insurance. Gotta send it Rapid Air." The FedEx version of Brown Kryptonite and, naturally, one of the most expensive options available. I sighed, pulled out the Visa, and hit the phones as soon as I got home.

Tele-Hassling UPS

"UPS, how may I help you?"

I explained what I'd just been through, and the voice on the line said: "They're correct, sir, you cannot send guns from a UPS Authorized Shipping Outlet." In other words, none of the friendly, local pack 'n' ships in the strip malls and grocery stores just two minutes from my house. "You can only send it from the nearest UPS Shipping Center."

"Which is where?" I asked.

He consulted his computer and told me. It's an hour round-trip. And I don't reside in the boondocks where there are no services; I live in one of the biggest, most business-oriented suburbs of Chicago. "That's ridiculous," I said.

"That's the rule, sir. But you could, if you like, take the package to a gun dealer and have him send it for you. Have any of those around?"

"Sure," I said. "But why should I? What makes him any more qualified to send a parcel than me?"

"He's licensed, and you're not."

"Licensed?" I said, dumbfounded. "What on earth does his having an ATF license have to do with my shipping a package?"

He put me on hold a few seconds, then came back. "It's the law, sir. All guns have to be sent from a Shipping Center, or handled by a gun dealer. No exceptions. That's the law."

And thus was my introduction to The Great American Gun-Shipping Wars.

The more I thought about these various conversations, the more confused I became. What exactly is the law on shipping firearms versus what's merely corporate policy? Who has the most restrictive policies? The least? Why are UPS' rules so different from FedEx's, which are in turn so dissimilar to the Postal Service's? Could I simply mail my pistol and bypass the private carriers entirely? Why such a big difference in what the pack 'n' ships will accept?

To find out, I talked to representatives of the nation's three biggest shippers: United Parcel Service, Federal Express and the U.S. Postal Service. I waded through their websites. I talked to the government, firearms dealers and gunsmiths, and read page after page of the rules and regulations that govern firearms shipping in the United States.

And here's what I found:

Firearms shipping laws, in and of themselves, are surprisingly straightforward. According to Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the bureau of the Treasury Department that regulates the nation's firearms trade, they boil down to this:

1) You can't mail handguns. You must send them via a private carrier, such as UPS or FedEx.

2) You can send long guns-- rifles and shotguns-- via the Postal Service or a private shipper.

3) You are required to tell the shipper that there's a gun in the package.

4) Neither you nor the shippers can label or mark the package in any way or fashion as containing a gun.

5) You can send and receive gun parts with no restrictions. As long as the parts don't add up to a complete gun (or a receiver, which in the eyes of the law is a complete gun), you can send and receive a barrel, a firing pin, grips or other components in any manner your preferences and pocketbook dictate.

6) You can send a gun to any resident of your own state, whether or not that person is a federal licensee (gun dealer, manufacturer, collector, gunsmith or importer). Outside your state, you can send the gun only to a licensee. The instate/out-of-state distinction is made, an ATF spokesman says, because: "The Treasury Department's authority in these matters is derived from the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution." If a gun doesn't move across a state line, it's not interstate commerce.