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October 20, 1999 12:48 PM, EDT

Major package delivery firms are shooting down efforts to ship handguns, largely because of the risk associated with lost or stolen firearms.

Last week, United Parcel Service, which had been a popular choice for gun dealers, stopped transporting handguns through its ground delivery system. After the Atlanta-based company announced the action to restrict handgun shipping to its more expensive next-day air delivery service, RPS Inc., the ground-based package delivery unit of FDX Corp., and Airborne Freight announced they were prohibiting most shipments of handguns.

Spokesman Bob Godlewski said UPS made the decision to discontinue ground transport of handguns because the risk of losing weapons in transit is greater with ground delivery.

Restricting handgun shipping to next-day air means the weapons will be taken through fewer locations and handled by fewer people, Godlewski said, and it means “there is less opportunity for guns to go in the wrong direction.”

For the full story, see the Oct. 18 print edition of Transport Topics. .