Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Wednesday a “landmark rulemaking package” designed to neuter multiple Biden-era firearm regulations.
First reported by Breitbart News, the proclamation is a welcome step forward during an administration under which protecting Second Amendment rights was a decidedly mixed bag.
At a joint ceremony with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), officials released 34 notices of proposed and final rulemaking. This came in response to Executive Order 14206, the Trump White House’s directive that federal agencies respect gun rights.
ATF officials are doing some of what’s been talked about for over a year
Newly confirmed Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Robert Cekada signed the package and was immediately congratulated by Blanche.
The acting AG told reporters Wednesday afternoon that “we are repealing rules that went beyond what the law allows.”
“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” Blanche declared. “This Department of Justice is ending the weaponization of federal authority against law-abiding gun owners. We will continue to vigorously defend their rights as the Constitution demands.”
Agency pledges to target willful violators of federal law
Blanche added that the administration wants to eradicate “red tape” created by people with no understanding of gun owners or the firearms industry.
Cekada, who was confirmed as the new ATF head on the same day as the announcements, said it’s a new day at the embattled federal agency.
“ATF’s mission is to protect public safety and enforce the law—and these reforms reflect our commitment to doing that through regulations that are clear, legally sound, and narrowly tailored to that purpose,” Cekada said in a statement. “Our enforcement focus from here on out is on willful violators and criminal actors, not inadvertent compliance issues by responsible owners and licensees.”
The regulatory changes were classified under five headings: Repeal, Modernize, Reduce Burden, Clarify, and Align.
One of the dozens of changes announced was the rollback of the rule erasing the so-called “gun show loophole.” This regulation banned unlicensed dealers from conducting business at these gatherings unless they ran a background check on the potential buyer.
Then there’s the demise of the hated “pistol brace rule” enacted during the previous administration. The ATF said it will propose rescinding the regulation in response to several courts deeming it unconstitutional.
This was one of a series of anti-Second Amendment actions taken under the Biden administration that appeared to violate the Administrative Procedure Act. This federal law prohibits unelected bureaucrats from rewriting the laws of the nation.
The ATF said it will revisit the “engaged in the business” rule and rescind specific provisions that did not produce the desired effects. The agency will, however, keep the definition established by Congress through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
The agency further responded to the Supreme Court’s findings in Garland v. Cargill that semi-automatic rifles featuring bump stocks do not magically transform into machine guns under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).
It removed bump stock language from the ATF’s machine gun definitions.
Then there’s the requirement that FFLs prominently display the Youth Handgun Safety Act notice. The law has been on the books for over three decades, and the mandate is easily accessible online.
Of course, there was immediate criticism from the vocal and predictable anti-Second Amendment lobby. Everytown for Gun Safety President John Feinblatt blasted restoring gun rights as irresponsible.
“Four days after the nation watched gunfire break out at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the Trump administration’s answer is to gun commonsense gun safety laws and sabotage the only federal agency dedicated to keeping guns out of criminal hands,” Feinblatt claimed.
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