Second Amendment Advocates Celebrate Trump Administration Pledge To End ‘Zero Tolerance’ Gun Policy

Gun rights groups are celebrating the Trump administration’s rollback of a Biden-era enforcement policy they say ensnared gun dealers who made simple paperwork errors.The lobbying organization Gun Owners of America called the repeal of the Enhanced Regulatory Enforcement Policy a significant win for the Second Amendment.Nicknamed the “Zero Tolerance Policy,” it set more stringent criteria for gun sellers to meet. It allowed inspections to identify licensees with certain qualifying violations including failing to conduct the required background checks or falsifying records.“The so-called ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy wasn’t about safety — it was about control,” the gun owners’ group said in a statement.The National Rifle Association says that while the threshold for violations was serious on paper — in practice the policy worked very differently. It claims that falsifying records could translate simply to making a mistake in any of the dozens of necessary items on documents required when a dealer sells a gun.The policy led to the largest increase in gun store license revocations in decades by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The Trace reported. Some 195 gun dealers lost their licenses in 2024, the most in at least 20 years.“This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right,” Attorney General Bondi said in a statement. “The prior administration’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy unfairly targeted law-abiding gun owners and created an undue burden on Americans seeking to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms — it ends today.”The DOJ and the ATF also said they will review a rule related to stabilizing braces that sought to reclassify certain firearms as short-barreled rifles. Another review will look at the definition of “engaging in the business” of firearms dealing. The Biden administration had broadened the definition to anyone presumed to demonstrate the intent to “predominantly earn a profit” from the sale of firearms.Gun advocates considered the rules an overreach.The ATF says the agencies will conduct a review over the coming months and say they will consult with gun rights organizations, industry leaders, and legal experts.President Trump promised a rollback of gun-control policies during his campaign. In February, the president issued Executive Order 14206, directing the attorney general to examine all executive actions and present a proposed plan to protect Second Amendment rights.The administration has also signaled it could shift its positions on several pending Second Amendment cases, including one asking the courts whether ownership of suppressors should be protected by the Constitution.Ms. Bondi’s chief of staff says the Department of Justice will re-evaluate recent litigation on the topic of firearms rights and has already asked for a pause in the case involving suppressors.

Second Amendment Advocates Celebrate Trump Administration Pledge To End ‘Zero Tolerance’ Gun Policy

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