Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and newly-confirmed ATF Director Robert Cekada, surrounded by representatives from the firearms industry and Second Amendment groups, announced a slew of reforms to the agency along with its rules and regulations on Wednesday afternoon. That includes the repeal of the Biden-era rules treating brace-equipped pistols as short-barreled rifles and almost every gun owner who offers a firearm for sale as an “unlicensed dealer.”
Blanche credited President Donald Trump for the reforms to come, noting the president’s executive order last year directing federal agencies to identify rules, regulations, and laws that conflict with the Second Amendment. Blanche also praised ATF General Counsel Rob Leider for his work in rewriting these regs “so that Americans don’t need a law degree in order to understand their rights,” as Blanche put it.
Cekada, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate just moments before the DOJ/ATF press conference took place, says he’s never seen as many regulatory changes introduced at one time as what was unveiled today. The new ATF Director added that the changes are the result of a year-long, sustained review of existing regulations conducted both internally and with the input of stakeholders.
A total of 34 separate notices have been unveiled, hitting on five separate areas of reform:
– Rescinding regulatory language that exceeds statutory authority, failed judicial review, or did not achieve their intended outcomes.
– Updating ATF’s compliance and recordkeeping framework to reflect current technology and business practices.
– Eliminating administrative requirements that impose costs on law-abiding individuals and businesses.
– Resolving regulatory ambiguity to provide licensees, applicants, and the public with clear, consistent, and actionable guidance.
– Conforming ATF’s regulatory text to reflect statutory changes, judicial decisions, and actions taken by partner agencies.
A few of the changes are unrelated to firearms, like the final rule implementing provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 related to trafficking contraband cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The vast majority of these reforms, however, are aimed at the “F” in the ATF’s mission.
The agency wants to allow spouses to file a joint application as makers and/or transferees of NFA-regulated firearms without having to form a trust and remove the requirement that applicants forward a copy of their NFA application to the Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) of their locality.
Another proposed rule would recognize that “common, reasonably necessary activities” during travel like overnight stops, vehicle maintenance, refueling, and stopping to eat are all covered under the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act’s provisions for interstate transport of firearms. That seems like common sense, but remarkably these activities have not been explicitly covered by FOPA before now.
The ATF is also hoping to redefine the regulatory definition of “mental defective.”
The proposed rule would refine the term “mental defective,” associating it with “intellectually disabled” and clarify that a person receiving assistance in only one functional area (such as financial management) would not, on that basis alone, be considered prohibited under this definition. The proposal also clarifies existing prohibitions. Specifically, individuals committed to a mental institution resulting from a determination that an individual is a danger to themselves or others or is found not guilty by reason of insanity, properly fall within the definition of “committed to a mental institution,” and not within the definition of “mental defective.”
Blanche added that the reform efforts will continue, including revisions to the rifles that are classified as “particularly suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes” under the Gun Control Act of 1968.
The 34 proposals announced today will soon be published in the Federal Register, which kicks off the rulemaking process. There will be a public comment period for each of these rules, followed by a review period, and then publication of the final rule (which may or may not encompass changes proposed during the public comment period).
A full list of today’s proposed rules can be found here. These changes really do comprise the biggest internal reforms promulgated by the ATF in its history, and Blanche declared they’re being done in support of the fundamental truth that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.
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