The Justice Department is considering loosening a slate of gun regulations as it seeks to bolster support from ardent Second Amendment advocates, according to a new story in The Washington Post (paywall).
Some of the changes are expected to ease restrictions on the private sale of guns and loosen regulations on shipping firearms. Other changes to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulations would change the types of firearms that can be imported and make licensing fees refundable. Officials are also expected to change the form required to purchase guns to have applicants list their biological sex at birth; the current form simply asks applicants to list their sex.
The paper said that the new gun rules highlight the DOJ’s challenges as it seeks to placate a part of the president’s base that believes the administration has not been aggressive enough in easing firearm restrictions. The Trump administration has installed prominent gun rights advocates in senior political positions, and pushed to slash about 5,000 law enforcement officers from ATF, cutting the number of inspectors who ensure gun sellers are in compliance with federal laws. But some gun rights advocates have expressed disappointment with the choice of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who, as attorney general of Florida, supported gun restrictions after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland.