Federal judge rules guns cannot be banned from the post office

A federal judge in Florida ruled it unconstitutional to bar people from possessing firearms in post offices. The judge cited a Supreme Court ruling from 2022 as precedent.

Using the landmark decision from N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle dismissed part of a recent indictment of a postal worker who was charged with illegally possessing a gun in a federal facility.

According to Reuters, Mizelle said the charge violated the man's right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment.

"A blanket restriction on firearms possession in post offices is incongruent with the American tradition of firearms regulation," the judge's decision read.

The Trump-appointed judge also noted that the accused's gun possession did not violate restrictions placed upon on firearms in federal facilities.

"On average, the decisions made by post office employees are far from the weighty subject matter of elections or the legislative process. True, during the short window of time before an election, some post offices may receive mail-in ballots, making them more analogous to polling places. But even polling places were not protected indefinitely; instead, restrictions were tailored to the date of an election," Mizelle explained.

"That makes sense given the legal reason for these regulations — to prevent intimidation or interference with important government decisions."

However, the judge reportedly did not dismiss a different charge for forcibly resisting arrest.

Emmanuel Ayala, a United States Postal Service truck driver, carried a Smith & Wesson handgun for self-defense, according to his lawyers. The Daily Caller also reported that he kept it in a fanny pack and also had a concealed weapons permit.

According to prosecutors, Ayala allegedly brought the pistol onto the Postal Service grounds in 2012 and fled in attempt to avoid federal agents.

Ayala was charged under a statute that prohibits possessing a firearm in a federal facility, which includes a post office, but Judge Mizelle disagreed that a post office was constitutionally protected.

"The first prohibition on firearms possession in government buildings was not codified until 1964. ... And the first regulation specifically banning arms on post office property was codified in 1972," the judge continued.

"There is no evidence that Congress ever sought to address intimidation at post offices with firearms bans."

The judge went on to declare that "with respect to firearms regulation on government property, that legal principle cannot be used to abridge the right to bear arms by regulating it into practical non-existence."

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