United Parcel Service appears to have put last month’s silencer shipment kerfuffle to bed with a change to its official policies. Going forward, UPS will treat silencer shipments identically to firearms shipments . . .
UPS accepts firearm parts for shipment, provided the part is not a “firearm” as defined under federal law; the contents of the package cannot be assembled to form a firearm; and the package otherwise complies with federal, state, and local law. (Note: Receivers or frames of a firearm and firearm mufflers/silencers (also referred to as suppressors) are considered “firearms” and are accepted for transportation only if shipped in accordance with UPS’s requirements for shipping firearms.)
The company hitherto officially banned silencers, but would allow “licensed entities” to get special exceptions via contract around the ban. Steve Gaut, who handles public relations for the shipping company, was quoted by Guns.com as stating:
UPS has determined that instead of having a special exception program for suppressor/silencer shipments, it is sufficient to apply the existing UPS firearms policy, included the UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions of Service and in the guidelines for Shipping Firearms and Ammunition available on ups.com, essentially treating a suppressor/silencer as a firearm for purposes of shipping with UPS….
UPS customers will no longer be required to receive an exception for the shipment of suppressors/silencers, as long as the customer and their shipments comply with the UPS firearms policy noted above…. The updated policy reflects the company’s desire to make it easy for customers to do business with UPS and seeks to minimize the complexity of shipping regulated items through UPS.
Big Brown’s official policies have not changed, however, with regard to another popular NFA item:
UPS does not accept automatic weapons, including machine guns, for shipment.
DISCLAIMER: The above is an opinion piece; it is not legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship in any sense. If you need legal advice in any matter, you are strongly urged to hire and consult your own counsel. This post is entirely my own, and does not represent the positions, opinions, or strategies of my firm or clients.