In a significant legal development, a federal judge in Florida, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, appointed by former President Donald Trump, rendered a ruling declaring a provision of U.S. law prohibiting the possession of firearms in post offices as unconstitutional. Judge Mizelle based her decision on a landmark 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun rights.
The ruling came as part of the dismissal of a portion of an indictment against postal worker Emmanuel Ayala, who was charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm in a federal facility. Mizelle asserted that this charge infringed upon Ayala’s Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, emphasizing that a broad prohibition on firearms possession in post offices contradicts the historical American tradition of firearm regulation.
While Mizelle declined to dismiss a separate charge for forcibly resisting arrest, Ayala’s legal counsel and a U.S. Justice Department spokesperson have not issued statements in response to the ruling.
This decision aligns with a trend of recent court rulings deeming certain gun restrictions unconstitutional, particularly following the conservative-majority Supreme Court’s pivotal decision in June 2022 in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. The 2022 ruling acknowledged an individual’s right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense, introducing a new criterion for evaluating firearms laws, emphasizing their alignment with the historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Ayala, a U.S. Postal Service truck driver in Tampa, held a concealed weapons permit and carried a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun in a fanny pack for self-defense, according to his legal representation. The indictment stemmed from allegations that he brought the firearm onto Postal Service property in 2012 and evaded federal agents attempting to detain him. The charges were filed under a statute broadly prohibiting firearm possession in federal facilities, including post offices.
Judge Mizelle underscored that historical precedent does not support a ban on guns in post offices, pointing out that federal law did not restrict firearms in government buildings until 1964 and post offices until 1972. She contended that permitting the federal government to regulate the admission of firearms into government facilities could result in an effective abridgment of the right to bear arms. (ref. Reuters on January 12, 2024)
