President Trump has given new life to an old provision of law. Not able to push much of his agenda through Congress, the President has looked for other ways to use his delegated authority to accomplish his goals. For firearm rights, this has meant restarting a method of rights restoration not viable for thirty years.
The Origin
In 1968 Congress passed the Gun Control Act creating Federal levels of prohibited persons ineligible to possess firearms. Still giving some credence to inalienable rights, they provided a mechanism through which such rights could be restored to a prohibited person. 18 USC § 925(c).
Section 925 (c) provides:
“A person who is prohibited from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving firearms or ammunition may make application to the Attorney General for relief from the disabilities imposed by Federal laws with respect to the acquisition, receipt, transfer, shipment, transportation, or possession of firearms, and the Attorney General may grant such relief if it is established to his satisfaction that the circumstances regarding the disability, and the applicant’s record and reputation, are such that the applicant will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not be contrary to the public interest. Any person whose application for relief from disabilities is denied by the Attorney General may file a petition with the United States district court for the district in which he resides for a judicial review of such denial. The court may in its discretion admit additional evidence where failure to do so would result in a miscarriage of justice. A licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector conducting operations under this chapter, who makes application for relief from the disabilities incurred under this chapter, shall not be barred by such disability from further operations under his license pending final action on an application for relief filed pursuant to this section. Whenever the Attorney General grants relief to any person pursuant to this section he shall promptly publish in the Federal Register notice of such action, together with the reasons therefor.”
The authority to restore rights, along with many other law enforcement responsibilities under the Gun Control Act, was delegated by the Attorney General to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This has been the status quo for around fifty years.
The Prohibition
Under President Bush the First, Congress prohibited the ATF from spending any money to implement section 18 USC § 925(c) and restore the rights of prohibited persons. This was accomplished through an appropriations rider in the budget which has been continually renewed ever since.
In effect, Congress pulled the rug from under section 925(c) and prohibited the ATF from restoring the rights of prohibited persons.
The Rug Pull
Two can play that game. Congress prohibited ATF from using funds to restore rights. However, Congress gave this authority to the Attorney General who had chosen to delegate it to the ATF. Since only the ATF is prohibited from using funds to restore rights, Attorney General Pam Bondi decided to pull the rug from the ATF.
On March 20th, the Department of Justice issued an interim final rule revoking the earlier delegation. Withdrawing Delegation. If Congress would not let the ATF spend money to enforce this provision of law, the Department of Justice would enforce it elsewhere.
For now, the law will be enforced by the Attorney General directly. We can expect further development in the future via rulemaking, and perhaps legislative action.
The Process
So how can someone take advantage of this new path? That is a great question without an answer. Formerly guidance and an application procedure were provided in 27 CFR 478.144. However, the AG’s action also specifically removed this area of Federal Regulation in favor of starting with “a clean slate.”
Welcome to the wild west. Any application meeting the requirements of 18 USC § 925(c) can be submitted. How such applications will be acted upon is another matter. Some that may not get through in the future may be approved today. Some denied today may be possible in the future. (Congress may even try to amend the rider and shut down the process again, but that will require passing what can be called new gun control. Highly unpopular and thus not likely under the current Congress.)
Need Help?
As you may guess, I am excited about having a new trick in my repertoire of helping clients restore inalienable constitutional rights. This avenue is open for the first time in 33 years, and the possibilities are unknown. However, we have lots of experience working at the state level, and that experience can be put to use creating a solid application for the federal level.
If you have a friend that wasn’t eligible for help previously, this may be their ticket forward. Send them our way, and we will be happy to help them.
And if you have a more mundane matter, such as a will, trust amendment, or the neighbor’s monkey goes berserk, we’ll help you with that too.