The Trump administration is taking steps to restore gun rights for former convicts, reviving a dormant process that could affect thousands of Americans with prior criminal records.
Key Takeaways
- The Department of Justice is establishing a process to restore gun rights to eligible former convicts, shifting authority from the ATF to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
- Federal funding for processing gun rights restoration requests has been blocked since the early 1990s, effectively suspending the legal pathway for rights restoration.
- The interim final rule is part of a broader Trump Administration executive order to review gun policies.
- Criteria for restoration will consider the nature of past crimes and evidence of current law-abiding behavior.
- The rule will take effect immediately but includes a 90-day public comment period.
Restoring a Long-Blocked Legal Pathway
The Department of Justice is moving forward with plans to reinstate a process for restoring gun rights to former convicts who meet specific eligibility requirements. The initiative comes through an interim final rule that transfers authority from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to Attorney General Pam Bondi. This represents the first significant attempt in over three decades to reestablish a federal pathway for restoring Second Amendment rights to those with criminal histories, as Congress has blocked funding for such evaluations since the early 1990s.
The restoration process will target individuals with felony or domestic violence misdemeanor convictions who are currently prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law. According to the Justice Department, the policy revision provides an opportunity to build a streamlined approach without outdated procedures, such as requirements to file applications in triplicate. While the rule goes into effect immediately, the public will have 90 days to submit comments before final implementation.
Finally, a pro-gun action from Bondi—taking power back from the ATF to restore gun rights.
But this isn’t full compliance with Trump’s EO. The DOJ is still litigating anti-2A cases, Bondi’s Report is overdue, and ATF funding remains at $4.4M/day.
A good start, but we need more. pic.twitter.com/wqA2MdOauY
— National Association for Gun Rights (@NatlGunRights) March 19, 2025
Executive Order Origins and Implementation
This initiative stems directly from President Trump’s executive order directing a comprehensive review of federal gun policies. Rather than immediately delegating restoration authority to another agency, Attorney General Bondi will first develop recommendations for Congress on funding strategies to implement the program effectively. The Justice Department has determined it is not required to follow standard notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures for this particular interim final rule, allowing for faster implementation.
“Revising 28 CFR 0.130 and removing 27 CFR 478.144 further provides the Department a clean slate on which to build a new approach to implementing 18 U.S.C. 925(c) without the baggage of no-longer-necessary procedures—e.g., a requirement to file an application ‘in triplicate,’ 27 CFR 478.144(b),” Bondi stated.
The restoration process will evaluate applicants based on several factors, including the nature and severity of their past criminal activity, evidence of rehabilitation, and their current status as law-abiding citizens. The proposal addresses longstanding concerns from gun-rights activists who have argued that the permanent prohibition, especially for non-violent offenders, represents an unjust lifetime penalty after individuals have served their sentences and reintegrated into society.
Controversy and Political Implications
The gun rights restoration initiative has not been without controversy. According to reporting, pardon attorney Elizabeth G. Oyer was recently fired after refusing to recommend actor Mel Gibson for gun rights restoration.
The policy addresses a longstanding paradox in federal gun law. While the legal framework includes provisions for restoring firearm rights to certain former offenders, the mechanism has been deliberately unfunded by Congress for decades. This has left individuals with limited options, often forcing them to pursue pardons or rights restoration through state-level processes with varying degrees of success. The revival of the federal pathway could potentially affect thousands of Americans who have been unable to exercise their Second Amendment rights despite living as law-abiding citizens for many years.
