Unconstitutional actions from the Biden administration must be rolled back or terminated
President Trump is making good on his promise to defend and strengthen the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. Just recently, the president signed an executive order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights, which directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin a sweeping review of federal firearms regulations and government agency actions that eroded the rights of gun owners during the Biden administration.
The president called the Second Amendment “an indispensable safeguard of security and liberty.” He reiterated that the right of citizens to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed and said the Second Amendment “is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans.”
The attorney general now has a presidential directive to examine dozens of orders, regulations, pending lawsuits, international agreements and other activities from various federal government agencies from January 2021 through January 2025. Ms. Bondi’s review will determine whether government agencies, prosecutors or unaccountable bureaucrats have worked to sabotage the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens under the pretext of promoting public safety.
The president’s order asks the attorney general to ensure that any federal policies or agency actions properly align with the protection of Second Amendment rights. Her review and recommendations for change are expected within a month. According to the order’s terms, they will be finalized and implemented in coordination with the domestic policy adviser to the president.
In a statement accompanying his executive order, the president said, “For too long, the Second Amendment has been under attack by those who seek to undermine our freedoms. We will not allow bureaucrats in Washington to erode the freedoms that our Founding Fathers fought to secure.”
We applaud the president for taking such decisive, bold action to protect our constitutional freedoms. As the attorney general moves forward with her investigation, she can recommend many actions to the president and his advisers to restore the rights of law-abiding citizens.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives must be reined in. The ATF has instituted a “zero tolerance” policy that requires inspectors to revoke the federal firearms licenses of individual firearms dealers or gun stores over simple clerical errors. This is a blatant effort to attack the firearms industry, and such rigid enforcement efforts by ATF must be halted and commonsense fairness restored.
ATF’s pistol brace rule, which classifies pistols equipped with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles under the National Firearms Act, should be reversed along with ATF’s Engaged in the Business rulemaking governing what constitutes a firearms dealer and ATF’s Frame or Receiver rule, which interpreted federal firearms statutes to restrict partially completed frames or receivers, such as parts kits, under the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act.
The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, created by President Biden and weaponized as a tool for zealous gun control activists, should be formally shuttered. It has reportedly received hundreds of millions of tax dollars to promote an extreme, anti-gun agenda. The website for the organization is now dark, and we hope this signals a complete, permanent shutdown of such brazen activities to attack the Second Amendment at the taxpayers’ expense.
Another area for the attorney general to review is the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center, the national clearinghouse for red flag laws. This “resource” also needs to go dark. Launched by the Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland, it contains a national database of individual state gun confiscation laws. The goal of the center is to advance constitutionally dubious red flag firearm seizure laws by highlighting state red flag laws and promoting their implementation in more states.
Many other unconstitutional actions from the Biden administration must be rolled back or terminated. The FBI and Justice Department must stop illegally strong-arming people into “voluntarily” designating themselves “prohibited from owning a firearm” in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System database, and there must be an immediate halt to the funding of state red flag gun seizure regimes that violate due process.
Ms. Bondi’s report should also recommend ending the tax funding of fraudulent gun “safety” organizations. These organizations act as anti-gun propaganda weapons used to shift public support away from lawful gun ownership or produce false data in support of sweeping gun control legislation. It is also necessary to review the federal agency classifications for firearms and ammunition and the processing of applications to manufacture, transfer or export guns.
Additionally, the attorney general should suggest ending gun bans in federal parks and other recreational areas, as well as in federal parking lots and post offices. Law-abiding gun owners have every right to protect themselves in these areas if needed.
The White House has rightly declared that gun rights have “preserved the right of the American people to protect ourselves, our families, and our freedom.” No statement could be truer. We look forward to Attorney General Bondi’s report with hopefulness and enthusiasm.
• John Commerford is executive director of NRA-ILA.
