Following the gross weaponization of the Department of Justice(DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by the Biden Administration, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on February 7 instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin investigating the ATF to determine agency actions need to be rolled back.
Now, 30 U.S. Senators are attempting to expedite that process by sending a letter to ATF Deputy Director Marvin G. Richardson, urging the agency to take immediate action to eliminate some of the arguably unconstitutional “final rules” published by the DOJ and ATF during the Biden presidency.
“Under former President Joe Biden, ATF adopted numerous policies and rules that infringed upon Americans’ Second Amendment protections,” the letter began. “President Trump’s Executive Order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to review and develop a plan of action regarding President Biden’s unlawful firearms regulations. We ask that you work with the Attorney General to quickly identify and rescind these policies.”
One of the leaders of the effort to send the letter, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, took to social media to explain his reasoning.
“Proud to lead 29 of my Senate GOP colleagues in sending a letter to the ATF urging them to comply with @POTUS’ executive order & rescind multiple unlawful firearm regulations from the Biden admin,” Sen. Cornyn posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The letter to ATF leaders specifically pointed out four pieces of “rulemaking” for ATF leaders to address. They included the rule redefining who is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, the pistol braced rule that redefined braced pistols as “short-barreled rifles” under the National Firearms Act, the so-called “ghost gun” rule that bans the longstanding tradition of Americans making their own firearms and Biden’s “zero-policy” rule for gun sellers, which purposely put many firearms retailers out of business for simple clerical errors.
The senators also demanded that ATF destroy millions of records that it has no business possessing under federal law.
“In addition to promptly rescinding these rules and policies, we urge you to immediately destroy the hundreds of millions of ATF Form 4473 firearm transaction records and other licensee records that are over 20 years old,” the senators wrote. “These records have no particular law enforcement value but do contain the sensitive information of millions of law-abiding gun owners.”
One pro-gun organization quick to embrace the letter was the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearms industry trade association.
“The previous administration wielded the ATF like a hammer and anvil against the firearm industry, turning the regulatory agency into one that punished and carried out a radical gun control agenda designed to diminish Second Amendment rights,” Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel, said in a news release supporting the letter. “President Donald Trump—along with Senator John Cornyn and these dozens of other senators—are righting the ship and returning ATF to its mandated role as a law enforcement agency focused on combatting violent crime and to act as a non-partisan regulator of the firearm industry.
“NSSF has protested these rules ever since they were announced and is heartened that the Trump administration and the Senate are acting quickly to protect Second Amendment rights and the lawful firearm industry. NSSF encourages ATF to act quickly on Senator Cornyn’s letter and enact these reforms to roll back unconstitutional overreaches brought by the Biden administration.”
Ultimately, the senators made it clear that the infringements addressed in the letter weren’t an exhaustive list.
“The foregoing should not be considered a full accounting of every action or policy for which ATF may be held responsible under President Trump’s Executive Order but represent obvious and high priority places for ATF to initiate compliance,” the senators concluded. “We look forward to working with you through the transition as you implement President Trump’s agenda and reorient ATF toward protecting Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”
Other Republican senators signing the letter along with Sen. Cornyn included Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, John Thune of South Dakota, Thom Tillis and Redd Budd of North Carolina, John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice of West Virginia, Jim Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, and Ted Cruz of Texas. Still others included Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven of North Dakota, James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran of Kansas, Rick Scott of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Todd Young of Indiana, and Jim Banks of Indiana.
