Analysis: Trump Administration Begins Push for Gun Regulation Reforms [Member Exclusive]

On Wednesday, the Division of Justice launched a brand new rule that seeks to re-open the long-dormant gun-rights restoration course of.

It was the primary public results of President Donald Trump’s government order requiring Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi to evaluate government department gun insurance policies. It’s late, and it’s extra of a plan to make a plan than a right away motion, however it’s a first step towards one thing gun-rights activists have been pursuing. It got here because the Division of Well being and Human Providers introduced it had deleted the outgoing Surgeon Basic’s 2024 report calling for stricter gun legal guidelines from its web site–one other transfer gun-rights activists cheered.

Nonetheless, the administration did one thing else that’s gotten much less consideration however does extra to foreshadow plans for additional regulatory motion on weapons.

This week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) up to date its web site to point out that George Mason College professor Robert Leider is now the company’s assistant director and chief counsel. The ATF didn’t reply to a request for touch upon Leider’s appointment, however he’s a widely known Second Modification scholar and gun-rights advocate. Actually, he’s appeared a number of instances on The Weekly Reload Podcast and penned an evaluation piece for us about what the Trump Administration ought to do with the ATF this time round.

So, his views are fairly effectively established. Let’s check out a few of what he’s stated.

“As an alternative of utilizing their political capital to attempt to dismantle the ATF, gun advocates would probably see extra success working throughout the system,” Leider wrote at The Reload in December. “Whereas federal firearms legal guidelines can’t be repealed by government motion, they nonetheless delegate important energy to the Legal professional Basic (who subdelegates to ATF) on how the legal guidelines are carried out. The Trump Administration may shift many ATF insurance policies of their favor.”

In the course of the marketing campaign, Trump promised to roll again President Joe Biden’s ATF guidelines through the first week of his presidency. Which means the pistol-brace ban and used gun gross sales rule are probably candidates to be rescinded. Identical for the “ghost gun” package ban–though the Supreme Courtroom might have its say on that earlier than the administration acts.

After all, Trump hasn’t caught to his promised timetable. He additionally hasn’t made gun coverage a high challenge since taking workplace, regardless of pushing the boundaries of politics and regulation in lots of different areas by means of his first few months in workplace. The evaluate course of he ordered may additionally function a approach to choose and select which of the priorities gun-rights activists have they need to handle, particularly given Bondi’s historical past of backing some new gun restrictions.

However appointing any person like Leider to a place like ATF chief counsel suggests gun-rights activists gained’t essentially need to depend on the whims of Trump or Bondi to see the sorts of reforms they’re on the lookout for. With a regulatory knowledgeable in place who’s dedicated to utilizing that experience to roll again restrictions, it’s extra prone to occur even with out prodding from above. Choosing a professor with deep data of the legal guidelines and guidelines that govern how ATF operates is extra prone to produce workable reforms than choosing one other TV star or podcaster whose abilities are extra obvious on digital camera than within the federal register.

Moreover, Leider has already mused on some locations the place Trump may flip ATF’s powers to gun-rights advocates’ benefit. As an alternative of simply rescinding the Biden-era ATF guidelines–one thing that may nonetheless require time and experience to perform–Leider has instructed different methods to dismantle some gun restrictions beneath present regulation.

“Though federal regulation restricts the importation of firearms and not using a discovering that the firearms are helpful for sporting functions, ATF determines what constitutes ‘sporting functions’ for firearm importation. The Trump Administration is not any extra sure to the ATF’s definition of sporting functions from the Clinton Administration than the Clinton Administration was sure by the Reagan Administration’s definition. Consequently, there may be nothing stopping the Trump Administration from having a extra expansive conception of what constitutes a reputable sporting objective.”

He additional famous that it was inside Trump’s authority as president to easily reverse the ATF’s present method to business inspections and different enforcement efforts.

“The Trump Administration may information how ATF workouts its investigative and prosecutorial discretion over federal firearm licensees,” Leider wrote. “This might embrace reversing the Biden Administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ insurance policies which have led to federal firearms licensees being revoked over minor paperwork violations.”

All in all, he argued that the simplest method gun-rights advocates may take to the ATF beneath Trump’s new administration could be to work throughout the system.

“Reforming federal firearms insurance policies requires in depth technical data of administrative regulation mixed with a realistic and life like coverage agenda,” he wrote. “If gun advocates need to translate their electoral success into tangible coverage modifications, they might want to work throughout the regulatory state that lots of them despise fairly than making an attempt to overthrow it.”

Now, Leider would be the one in control of navigating the ins and outs of that regulatory state. His appointment is the strongest indicator the Trump Administration will push ahead with the rule rollbacks Trump promised and should do far more than that. Given the margins in Congress make important statutory reforms unlikely, that’s in all probability the very best likelihood gun-rights advocates have for significant gun coverage reforms for no less than the following two years.

After all, we’ll nonetheless have to attend and see if Leider can ship.