Apparently in response to a threatening letter from five anti-gun U.S. senators, United Parcel Service (UPS) decided to accelerate President Joe Biden’s (D) new and arguably unconstitutional rule concerning the shipping of firearm parts and so-called “ghost guns.”
While the Biden rule doesn’t take effect until August 24, UPS has already changed its delivery policy to mirror it, and is even threatening some companies that sell firearm parts that their packages already in the shipping system might be “seized and destroyed.” Additionally, UPS has canceled or suspended the accounts of several companies in the firearms business.
The U.S. Senate letter, which was sent to UPS, Federal Express, the U.S. Postal Service, and trucking and rail carriers, chides the delivery services for alleged “lax shipping security measures” without providing any proof of that accusation.
“Over the past two years, gun sales have skyrocketed, in part because the Trump administration declared that FFLs were essential businesses and therefore exempt from many pandemic restrictions,” the letter said. “This decision allowed dealers to sell more guns than ever before. To meet this demand, firearm manufacturers and dealers shipped guns across state lines in huge numbers, providing new opportunities for criminals to exploit the weak regulation and lax security measures in the shipment process.”
Since internet sales of firearms require a federal background check, the gun sales the senators seem to be talking about must have been legal sales to lawful gun purchasers. What they’re really doing is trying to push forward with Biden’s new rule on so-called “ghost guns” more than a month before it is set to take effect. And that scheme seems to be working—at least with UPS.
Mark Oliva, managing director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), said his organization has looked into the situation after several members “received letters that their [UPS] accounts were being suspended until a determination was made.”
“The fact that these senators would use their office to interfere with lawful commerce prior to the requirements of the Department of Justice/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Final Rule goes into effect shows that gun control factions within our government are more interested in interfering with the lawful exercise of Second Amendment rights than they are providing real solutions for community safety,” Oliva said in an exclusive interview with America’s 1st Freedom. “The rules are already constitutionally suspect, given the Supreme Court’s West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency decision that struck down an executive branch agency’s capacity for writing their own laws without the express consent of Congress.”
Matthew O’Connor, UPS director of media relations, told America’s 1st Freedom that the move was made to adhere to “nationwide regulations.”
“UPS’s policy now clarifies that the company does not accept any firearms, frames or receivers, or partially complete, disassembled or nonfunctional frames or receivers, as defined by the new federal regulation, unless those items have been identified and given a serial number in compliance with federal requirements,” O’Connor said. “With a limited number of customers, UPS has taken steps to address specific compliance risks.”
When pressed in a follow-up email on the matter of UPS’s policy taking effect long before the Biden rule does—basically resulting in UPS directly infringing on Second Amendment rights ahead of the Biden administration’s timeline to do so—O’Connor provided no answer.
Among distributors whose UPS accounts were suspended was Ghost Firearms, a Florida gun, accessories and parts dealer. Ghost Firearms owner Joe Zatar recently shipped $30,000 worth of product, according to a report. And based on the letter UPS sent to Zatar, it’s likely those packages will never reach their rightful purchasers.
The letter said: “Please note that any package found in the UPS system determined to have been tendered by GHOST FIREARMS may be seized and destroyed.”
The letter further stated: “We write to inform you that UPS has learned that your company may be violating applicable laws concerning the shipment of ‘ghost guns’ to unauthorized locations. In light of our concern, UPS has determined that it will cancel your account, effective immediately.”
The five senators sending the letter, which ostensibly prompted the UPS decision, represent a veritable who’s-who in the gun-ban movement, and are very familiar names to America’s lawful gun owners. U.S. senators signing the letter were Edward Markey of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Dianne Feinstein of California.
This is an ongoing story. We’ll provide an update as further developments occur.
