U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondy said the policy includes “gun owners who comply with unfairly targeted laws.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Monday it would remove a “zero tolerance” policy that allows authorities to revoke licenses of gun dealers that could not conduct background checks.
The DOJ said it is repealing the policy and reconsidering two other rules. One is intended to reclassify a particular firearm as a short barrel rifle, and the other concerns the definition of “engaging in the business” of selling guns.
US Attorney General Pam Bondy said that the Biden administration’s policy in 2021 “unfairly targeted legal gun owners” that “created an undue burden on Americans who attempt to exercise their constitutional right to bear weapons.”
ATF Director Kash Patel, who is also FBI Director, said the ATF will work with gun rights groups, industry leaders and legal experts to ensure that the policy protects the rights of the second amendment.
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Gun control advocacy group Brady has denounced the DOJ’s move. Group president Chris Brown said removal of policies could lead to an increase in violent crime.
Brown also accused the Trump administration of prioritizing the gun industry over people’s safety, adding that the abolition “undermines years of progress in the fight against illegal firearm trafficking.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the DOJ and the White House for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The firearms industry has welcomed the DOJ’s move to abolish the policy. Gun dealers have previously alleged that policies have exposed them to losing their federal firearms licenses through minor administrative errors in the ATF form.
Lawrence G. Keene, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the industry association for the firearms industry, praised the Trump administration for removing the policy.
The American Owners (GOA), an organization defending the rights of the Second Amendment, said repealing the policy was a “critical step” to restore the rights of Americans to bear firearms.
Michael Clements contributed to this report.
