Opinion
As a gun rights attorney and Second Amendment advocate, I have been watching this line of cases very closely.
The recent federal court rulings striking down the post office gun ban are not just legal footnotes; they are personal. They cut to the core of what it means to be an American who refuses to surrender his rights. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood in the parking lot of a post office, staring at my firearm locked in the glove compartment, knowing that either choice I made would brand me a criminal. Walking in without it, I risked leaving my family unprotected. I walked in with it, and I violated a federal statute that has no basis in history, tradition, or the Constitution. That is not justice.
That is not freedom. That is coercion, plain and simple.
Let me be clear: I am not a felon.
I am a law-abiding citizen, a criminal defense “self-defense” attorney, and a patriot. But for years, the federal government forced me, and millions like me, into a corner where being faithful to my constitutional rights, the Second Amendment, meant being treated as an outlaw. The post office, a mundane government building where people buy stamps and mail packages, became a trap. And the idea that this ordinary place somehow qualifies as a “sensitive location” is an insult to reason. Courthouses, military bases, and prisons are sensitive. A post office with no security, no metal detectors, and no armed guards? That’s not a fortress. That’s a post office, a government-imposed defenseless zone.
The decision in Firearms Policy Coalition v. Garland is a victory, yes, but it’s a limited one. A federal judge in Texas finally acknowledged what we’ve known all along: the government cannot invent gun-free zones out of thin air. The Bruen decision from the Supreme Court gave us the legal tool, and now courts are beginning to use it. The judge rightly pointed out that there was no historical tradition of banning firearms at post offices. The ban didn’t exist in 1792, 1850, or even 1920. It was created in the 20th century, long after the Constitution was written, after common sense was lost, and it has no place in a free society.
And yet, even now, the government clings to this fiction. The injunction only protects the two Plaintiffs, members of the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation. What about the rest of us who don’t fit into the court’s protected class? What about the veteran who served overseas, the mother who carries for protection, the citizen who believes in the Constitution but doesn’t belong to a gun rights group? Are their rights worth less? The Second Amendment doesn’t say “the right of the people shall not be infringed unless you’re a member of an organization that sued the government.” It applies to everyone.
Based on my two choices, either abandon my firearm and risk being defenseless or carry it and be treated as a felon, I chose the latter. Every time. I refused to surrender my right to self-defense for the sake of bureaucratic convenience. I walked into that post office knowing the risk, knowing that one overzealous postal inspector or federal agent could change my life forever. But I also knew that if we don’t stand for our rights when it matters, they will vanish one parking lot at a time.
Now, of course, I must say this because the federal government loves to read my opinion pieces, I am a licensed attorney, and I would never violate state or federal law. So, let’s be perfectly clear: any suggestion that I personally carried a firearm into a post office in defiance of federal regulations is purely hypothetical. Entirely fictional. A literary device. Nothing more. This article is, after all, protected speech. And I would never do anything illegal, especially not something that could jeopardize my bar license. That would be insane.
I have the utmost respect for the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Second Amendment Foundation. Their courage, resources, and relentless legal strategy made this breakthrough possible. Without them, we’d still be silent, scared, and forced to choose between our rights and federal prosecution. But their work is not done. This fight is not over.
Because it is not enough to win in one district court. It is not enough to protect only those who belong to the right group. We must keep pushing hard until every American can walk into a post office or any public space without fear of being treated like a criminal simply for exercising a right that legions have died to protect. The Founding Fathers didn’t spill blood so that future generations could be disarmed at the whim of bureaucrats. They fought so that liberty would endure.
And so, we must fight too. Not with violence, but with principle. Not with rage, but with resolve. The courts are beginning to listen. Let’s make sure they hear our voices loud, clear, and unrelenting until every gun owner stands equal under the Constitution.
If you’re not already a member of the Firearms Policy Coalition or the Second Amendment Foundation, you should be.
And don’t stop there, join your state and local gun rights organizations too. These groups are the front lines of our constitutional defense. They’re the ones filing lawsuits, lobbying lawmakers, and showing up when it matters. Freedom isn’t free, and it isn’t maintained by silence or inaction. It’s protected by those who show up, speak out, and pay the dues literally and figuratively. If you believe in the Second Amendment, prove it. Join the fight because the next victory could be the one that finally extends this protection to every law-abiding American, not just those who belong to the right organization. It could be the case that convinces a circuit court to strike down the ban nationwide, or the moment the Supreme Court affirms that the Second Amendment means something real in public spaces. It could be the turning point where bureaucrats stop inventing unconstitutional restrictions and start respecting the Constitution. And when that day comes, it won’t be because of a single lawyer, a single plaintiff, or a single court. It will be because thousands of gun owners refused to stay silent, refused to back down, and refused to surrender their rights, one stamp, one letter, one defiant step at a time.
Make the next victory ours!
About Sean Maloney.
Sean Maloney is a criminal defense attorney, co-founder of Second Call Defense, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is a nationally recognized speaker on critical topics including the Second Amendment, self-defense, the use of lethal force, and concealed carry. Sean has worked on numerous use-of-force and self-defense cases and has personally trained hundreds of civilians to respond safely and legally to life-threatening situations. He is a passionate advocate for restoring the cultural legitimacy of the Second Amendment and promoting personal responsibility in self-defense.
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