Trump administration could give gun rights back to some ex-convicts

• The DOJ is taking steps to allow the ATF to restore firearm rights to certain individuals with previous prison sentences. The move led to reaction from both sides of the gun rights argument.

• President Trump previously signed an executive order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to review Biden-era firearms measures. Critics argue the administration’s actions could rearm violent criminals.
• The DOJ moved to restore actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights following his domestic violence conviction. It sparked criticism from gun control advocates and praise from Second Amendment supporters.

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The U.S. Department of Justice is taking steps to give the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives the ability to restore gun rights to some Americans with previous prison sentences.

Congress chose to bar the ATF from removing individual firearms restrictions in 1992 via annual spending bills, to which the DOJ said many gun laws and regulations have changed since.

“This confusing state of affairs has taken on greater significance given developments in Second Amendment jurisprudence since 1992.” the agency writes.

DOJ stressed that ATF would still give an appropriate differentiation between “certain individuals who no longer warrant such disability based on a combination of the nature of their past criminal activity and their subsequent and current law-abiding behavior while screening out others for whom full restoration of firearm rights would not be appropriate.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday, Feb. 7. It directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to assess whether various Biden-era firearms measures infringe on Second Amendment rights.

Gibson’s guns

The Justice Department recently moved to restore actor and Trump supporter Mel Gibson’s gun rights stemming from his plea agreement for domestic violence in 2011. A top pardoning official refused to approve the matter and claimed last week that she was asked to resign over it. 

Everytown for Gun Safety, a group that advocates for more gun restrictions, said the Trump administration is making it easier for violent criminals to rearm. 

“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,” said Everytown President John Feinblatt.

Gun rights advocates celebrated the decision. 

“The DOJ’s decision to finally withdraw ATF’s authority in this matter is an encouraging sign that this administration is serious about protecting the Second Amendment for all Americans,” said Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America.