On July 18, the ATF, which is overseen by the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi, published a proposed rule setting the framework for the restoration of rights to non-violent individuals who are precluded by federal law from possessing firearms.
The DOJ memo introducing the new proposed rule acknowledges President Trump’s Executive Order on Protecting the Second Amendment, signed in February of this year:
President Trump directed the Department of Justice to address the ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens–all of them. Federal law disables the firearms rights of many citizens who have been convicted of crimes without regard to whether they actually pose a threat of violence. But federal law also empowers the Attorney General to restore Second Amendment rights to individuals who are not “likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety.” Today, the Department of Justice submitted to the Office of the Federal Register a proposed rule regarding the exercise of the Attorney General’s authority under 18 U.S.C. 925(c) to grant relief to individuals who are otherwise precluded from possessing firearms.
The memo goes on to point out that those with non-violent criminal histories are not barred from other Constitutionally-protected liberties, and neither should Second Amendment rights be an exception:
“For too long, countless Americans with criminal histories have been permanently disenfranchised from exercising the right to keep and bear arms–a right every bit as Constitutionally enshrined as the right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to free exercise of religion–irrespective of whether they actually pose a threat,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “No longer.”
In their newsletter, the Tennessee Firearms Association noted that, “Federal law has included a provision under 18 USC 925 for relief of disabilities for many years. However, for almost three decades, Congress has overtly refused to appropriate funds to ATF to process the relief of disability applications.”
According to the DOJ memo, the proposed rule will provide citizens whose firearm rights are currently under legal disability with an avenue to restore those rights, while keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous criminals and illegal aliens.
The 48-page proposed rule can be accessed here. There does not appear to be an automated process as yet, and the DOJ memo notes that, “…ultimate discretion to grant relief will remain with the Attorney General, and she will exercise that discretion on a case-by-case basis in light of all available facts and evidence that bear on an individual’s application.”
In June of 2021, the ATF under the Biden Administration instituted a “Zero Tolerance” policy, which it claimed was part of a broader strategy to “reduce gun violence.” In reality, this policy often proved to be a targeted attack on hundreds of FFLs that were often family-owned businesses.
Unintentional paperwork and clerical errors that used to be considered minor infractions were enforced vigorously under the new policy and often resulted in the closing of businesses, the revocation of licenses, and admission of criminal charges as a result of the plea process.
The policy led to a significant increase in license revocations, with 157 licenses revoked in 2023 compared to 88 in 2022, and only 5 in the last six months of 2021. Between July 2021 and December 2024, nearly 650 FFLs lost or surrendered their licenses after failing inspections, according to blog posts on www.americas1stfreedom.org and www.smokinggun.org.
This publication is aware of at least one Tennessee-based, family-owned business that was targeted and resulted in an otherwise law-abiding business owner having to plead to criminal charges over a paperwork issue.
The new DOJ-proposed rule would theoretically restore the civil liberties and ability to conduct business back to this individual, and hundreds of others like him. It would also relieve many who have failed background checks for other non-violent criminal convictions.
