Department of Justice Issues Rule to Restore Lost Gun Rights

Gun control proponents said the change will increase crime by arming violent felons, domestic abusers and other violent criminals who had lost their gun rights.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the Department of Justice, speaks at a news conference in Washington on Feb. 12, 2025. Ben Curtis/AP Photo

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued an interim final rule to assume responsibility from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for deciding whether to restore the right to own a gun to individuals whose Second Amendment rights have been rescinded by a court.

Since 1968, people whose gun rights had been revoked could petition the U.S. Attorney General to have their rights restored under federal statute 18 U.S.C. 925(c). Over time, the attorney general delegated that authority to the ATF.