ATF announces dozens of gun regulation rollbacks
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced a broad package of policy changes long-sought by gun rights supporters. Gun control advocates say it’s a great day to be a criminal.
Bureau leaders on Wednesday joined newly confirmed Director Robert Cekada and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in unveiling more than 30 new rules and proposed regulations they called the most-significant “modernization” in the agency’s history. The proposals will post to the Federal Register in the coming days, where they’ll be open to commentary before they’re able to take effect.
Blanche said the modernizations were meant to ensure gun owners that they’re abiding by the law without needing a law degree and to pull back what the agency sees as overreach.
“We’re repealing rules beyond what the law allows,” Blanche said.
What’s changing
ATF announced 33 changes to firearms policy and one matter dealing with counterfeit cigarrette smuggling.
Among the most high-profile changes is one abandoning a Biden-era regulation banning pistol braces, a detachable accessory that allows for better stabilization while shooting one-handed. The part’s stated purpose is to allow those with diabilities such as military veterans that lost one hand, for instance, to still safely fire a gun. The rule found its way to a courtroom shortly after it was finalized.
The Biden administration argued that the braces amounted to a short-barreled rifle conversion kit that allowed a shooter to shoulder a concealable firearm and fire it with much more accuracy. President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice changed course after taking control of the defense, opting to jointly settle the case. This proposal formally removes any regulation via the ATF.
Another Biden administration reversal entails ending enforcement on the “gun show loophole.” The ATF said in its announcement that the rule failed to produce the expected enforcement outcomes. Gun rights groups contend that the measure was actually meant to suppress private gun sales, since federally licensed gun dealers still require a background check when they sell someone a firearm at a gun show.
The Biden administration’s enforcement of these and other rules led to an uptick in federal firearm licensees (FFLs) having their registrations revoked. One of the proposed changes allows those businesses to apply to have their licenses reinstated.
Other measures involve digitizing paperwork, streamlining background checks, clarifying rules about interstate travel with a gun, and removing import bans from former Soviet bloc countries.
Who’s happy, who’s mad?
ATF leaders were flanked by gun rights groups including the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation, who praised the changes.
“It was refreshing to hear Acting Attorney General Blanche state that the Second Amendment will no longer be treated as a second-class right under the current administration,” Second Amendment Foundation Executive Director Adam Kraut said.
Gun control groups said the changes will lead to more guns in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.
“Today is a great day if you sell illegal guns or commit crime — the rest of us should be worried,” said GIFFORDS Executive Director Emma Brown. “The actions announced today will make it easier for people to commit gun crimes while making it harder for law enforcement to solve them.”
Others pointed to the timing of the announcement being just days after a gunman infiltrated the White House Correspondents Association dinner before being detained by law enforcement.
“Four days after the nation watched gunfire break out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the Trump administration’s answer is to gut commonsense gun safety laws and sabotage the only federal agency dedicated to keeping guns out of criminal hands,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.
Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from California, faces multiple charges including attempted assassination and firing a weapon during a violent crime. Allen had legally aquired his guns in California, but others have noted the near-dozen federal, state and local gun laws he broke in the process of the alleged assassination attempt.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
