The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) will use a lighter touch when regulating gun stores.
That was part of an announcement from the Trump Administration on Monday. It said the ATF’s Biden-era policy of “zero tolerance” for firearms dealers who break agency regulations was immediately rescinded. Meanwhile, it also said the ATF would review its rules restricting pistol-braced firearms and the sale of used guns without a federal license.
“Today’s repeal of the Zero Tolerance Policy and the comprehensive review of stabilizing brace regulations and the definition of ‘engaged in the business’ marks a pivotal step toward restoring fairness and clarity in firearms regulation,” Acting ATF Director Kash Patel said in a statement. “We are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure our policies are balanced, constitutional and protective of Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”
A Department of Justice (DOJ) memo reviewed by The Reload shows they plan to create a “Second Amendment Task Force” as well.
“For too long, the Second Amendment, which establishes the fundamental individual right of Americans to keep and bear arms, has been treated as a second-class right. No more,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote to DOJ staff. “It is the policy of this Department of Justice to use its full might to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
The moves, particularly the reversal of the zero tolerance policy, represent the first concrete action taken since President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice to review executive branch gun policy. While the agency has also begun reviving the long-dormant gun-rights restoration process, that fell outside the scope of Trump’s initial executive order. The “zero tolerance” policy, pistol-brace ban, and used gun sales rule were all implemented under former President Joe Biden and specifically targeted for inspection in President Trump’s order. Undoing them has been a priority of the gun-rights movement since Trump took office.
It’s unclear how much of an immediate impact the moves will have, though.
The ATF claimed it stopped enforcing its “zero tolerance” policy against gun dealers, which saw license revocations rise sharply under Biden, in an internal memo unearthed during litigation last year. That ATF memo required agents to identify “willful” violations before they could shut down a gun dealer. However, industry trade group the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) argued the policy was still effectively imperiling gun businesses even after President Trump took office.
Several courts have also taken aim at the ATF’s Biden-era rules. An Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals panel blocked enforcement of the pistol-brace ban, which potentially implicates millions of gun owners, last August, and it wasn’t the first to do so. A federal district judge also partially blocked enforcement of the ATF’s rule expanding who needs to obtain a federal license to legally sell used guns last May.
Late last month, the Supreme Court upheld the other major Biden-era ATF rule. It found the agency’s rule banning the sale of “ghost gun” kits without a license was constitutional. The Trump Administration did not try to intervene in the case, and it didn’t mention the “ghost gun” rule in its latest announcement.
Bondi’s task force memo doesn’t paint a picture of exactly when or how the new groups will do their work. DOJ announced an investigation into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s handling of concealed carry permitting, but that wasn’t mentioned in the memo. Instead, Bondi says she will head the new force, and it will include representatives from different parts of the DOJ as well as the ATF and FBI–though, it doesn’t name specific officials.
“The Task Force is principally charged with developing and executing strategies to use litigation and policy to advance, protect, and promote compliance with the Second Amendment,” Bondi said.
The news also lands well after the deadline President Trump initially set for the Department of Justice to review executive branch gun policies. Additionally, the ATF said the new review of the two rules in question would take several more months.
“The DOJ and ATF will conduct an in-depth review over the coming months and will engage in consultations with stakeholders, including gun rights organizations, industry leaders and legal experts,” the ATF said in a statement. “Further updates on the status of these reviews will be released in due course.”
Still, the gun-rights groups heaped praise on the administration over the actions as gun-control groups decried them.
“NSSF applauds today’s announcement by the DOJ and ATF that the Biden-era ‘zero-tolerance’ policy is being eliminated,” Lawrence Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President, said in a statement. “This is great news for the industry that provides for the lawful exercise of the Second Amendment.”
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re seeing a realignment toward the Constitution,” Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America, said in a statement. “This repeal and regulatory review of ATF’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy sends a clear message that the era of Biden gun control is over.”
“Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered Kash Patel to review multiple life-saving gun safety measures—with the intention of eliminating them,” Everytown for Gun Safety said in a social media post. “Violent crime is at a 50-year low following bipartisan progress. Trump is willing to reverse all of that to line the pockets of the gun industry.”