The Justice Department has finalized a rule creating a new way for some people barred from owning firearms because of criminal convictions to apply to have their gun rights restored.
The rule, launched under newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche, gives Second Amendment advocates a policy win after years of pressure for a restoration process for people with nonviolent felony convictions.
A new process after decades of congressional limits
Federal law has long allowed people who lost gun rights because of felony convictions to petition the government to regain them. But since 1992, Congress has effectively prevented the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from processing those applications, according to reporting adapted from the Associated Press.
The Trump administration’s new rule seeks to work around that barrier by setting up a new application system through an online portal.
Blanche framed the rule as a constitutional-rights issue.
“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right, and the federal government should not permanently deprive Americans of a constitutional right without regard to whether they pose a danger to public safety,” Blanche said in a statement.
He said the process is meant to protect “public safety while giving deserving Americans a real path to restoration.”
Who could be denied
The Justice Department says applications will be decided case by case. Officials will weigh a person’s record and reputation to determine whether the applicant is likely to pose a threat to public safety.
Officials said people convicted of violent crimes, registered sex offenders, people living in the country illegally and others deemed dangerous to society will be denied “absent extraordinary circumstances.”
Gun-control group urges caution
Kris Brown, president of Brady, a group that supports stronger gun laws, said the organization is still reviewing the final rule. She said any system must be “robust and thoughtful” and reduce public-safety risks.
“Yet the Trump administration has consistently shown us they have no such discretion, including by restoring gun rights to convicted domestic abusers and violent January 6 insurrectionists, and by tirelessly rolling back broad policies proven to prevent crime and gun violence,” Brown said in a statement.
The rule is the latest firearms-related move from President Donald Trump’s administration. The Justice Department previously moved to roll back and modify several gun regulations and separately declined to challenge a court ruling that struck down regulations on firearm suppressors and certain guns.
