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(ATF) for deciding whether to restore the right to own a gun to individuals whose Second Amendment rights have been rescinded by a court.
Since 1968, people whose gun rights had been revoked could petition the U.S. Attorney General to have their rights restored under federal statute 18 U.S.C. 925(c).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
Congressional leaders justified the Schumer amendment by saying the applications distracted ATF personnel from their primary task of enforcing gun laws. A 1996 House Report stated that “too many of these felons whose gun ownership rights were restored went on to commit violent crimes with firearms.”
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.
The interim final rule issued on March 20, 2025, effective the same day, bypasses decades of congressional funding restrictions that prevented the ATF from processing applications by shifting those responsibilities to the DOJ. Proponents of the change say the ATF funding restriction blocked many legitimate petitions.
“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 said, “Now, they’re able to have their rights fully restored.”
Gun control proponents said the rule will result in more crime and deaths involving criminals using guns to carry out violent acts. In a March 19 statement on the Everytown for Gun Safety website, the group’s president said the rule will undo 30 years of legal precedent.
“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.
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