The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an interim final rule to assume responsibility from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for deciding whether to restore the right to own a gun to individuals whose Second Amendment rights have been rescinded by a court.
Since 1968, people whose gun rights had been revoked could petition the U.S. Attorney General to have their rights restored under federal statute 18 U.S.C. 925(c). Over time, the attorney general delegated that authority to the ATF.
In October 1992, then-Rep. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)—now the Senate Minority Leader—amended an ATF funding bill to prohibit the agency from using federal funds to process applications for the restoration of rights
As a result, no applications to restore Second Amendment rights were processed for more than 30 years.
A spokesman for Gun Owners of America (GOA) said this had meant a lifetime gun ban for people who did nothing more than violate the ATF’s zero-tolerance policy or were convicted of a non-violent gun crime under what he said were unconstitutional gun laws in some states.
“Some states violate citizens’ Second Amendment rights [with state gun laws]. Did they rob a bank? Were they domestic abusers? No,” Luis Valdes, a former police officer and a GOA spokesman, told The Epoch Times. “Now, they’re able to have their rights fully restored.”
“The Trump Administration is throwing out decades of bipartisan precedent and laying the groundwork to put guns back in the hands of domestic abusers and violent criminals,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said. “At a time when violent crime is down, this dangerous development could put law enforcement and our communities at greater risk by opening the floodgates to violent criminals rearming themselves.”
The interim rule states that each application will be reviewed individually by the DOJ to ensure people who should not have guns can’t obtain them.
“The Department simultaneously recognizes that no constitutional right is limitless; consequently, it also supports existing laws that ensure, for example, that violent and dangerous persons remain disabled from lawfully acquiring firearms,” the rule states.
Throughout his election campaign, President Donald Trump vowed to protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Since he took office for his second term, Trump has taken actions to dismantle President Joe Biden’s gun control mechanisms that the Trump administration considers to be encroaching on Americans’ rights.
John Commerford, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, said the NRA supports the Trump administration’s efforts.
In a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, Commerford stated that the Interim Rule on reviewing criminal cases applies legal principles from other cases.
“This is the same standard of review that already governs the granting of relief for mental health-related firearm disabilities under the NICS Improvement Amendments Act, which has been ongoing since 2008,” Commerford stated. “Properly construed, this standard does not allow granting relief to individuals who pose an ongoing, heightened risk of violent behavior.”
