DOJ opens new pathway to restore federal gun rights for certain barred individuals
Attorney General Todd Blanche on Monday launched a process allowing certain people barred from possessing firearms to apply to have their federal firearm rights restored.
Under a final rule, applicants must explain the circumstances of their prohibition and show they are unlikely to pose a danger to public safety. The Justice Department will also consider their record, reputation and subsequent conduct.
“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” Blanche said, calling the process “rigorous” and “commonsense” while providing deserving Americans a path to restoration.
The Justice Department said violent felons, registered offenders, illegal aliens and others who remain dangerous will generally remain ineligible absent extraordinary circumstances. Any relief applies only to federal firearm restrictions and does not override state laws.
The NRA said it has long supported restoring Second Amendment rights for people who have paid their debts to society and are not demonstrably dangerous. It said the final rule falls short of some of its recommendations but is an important step forward.
Brady: United Against Gun Violence President Kris Brown said the group was reviewing the rule and stressed that restoration must include safeguards against risks to public safety. She accused the Trump administration of restoring rights to convicted domestic abusers and violent January 6 insurrectionists while rolling back crime-prevention policies.
The announcement comes after the administration last week declined to pause a ruling allowing people to possess short-barreled rifles, shotguns and silencers without federal registration. The 1934 National Firearms Act imposed a $200 tax and registration requirement on such firearms. Republicans reduced the tax to zero through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, after which gun-rights groups argued the registration requirement was unconstitutional.
