A Florida federal judge, appointed by former President Trump, declared the U.S. law prohibiting firearms in post offices unconstitutional. Citing the 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which emphasized the right to carry handguns for self-defense, Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle dismissed part of an indictment against a postal worker, Emmanuel Ayala, stating that the blanket ban on guns in post offices violated the Second Amendment.
Mizelle argued that such a restriction contradicts America’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
However, the judge chose not to dismiss a distinct charge related to forcibly resisting arrest.
Emmanuel Ayala, employed in Tampa, possessed a concealed weapons permit and carried a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun in a fanny pack for self-defense, as per his legal representatives.
Prosecutors asserted that Ayala brought the gun onto Postal Service property in 2012, evading federal agents during an attempted detention. Subsequently, he faced indictment under a statute that broadly forbids firearm possession in federal facilities, encompassing post offices.
