DOJ and ATF release 34 gun rule changes after 14-month review

The most consequential individual rule is the repeal of the Biden-era pistol brace rule. The 2023 ATF rule under Biden had reclassified pistol-equipped stabilizing braces — devices originally designed to help disabled veterans fire pistols one-handed — as short-barreled rifles subject to the National Firearms Act, requiring registration, a $200 tax stamp, and a months-long approval process. The rule potentially criminalized millions of brace owners who had purchased them legally when ATF previously said they were lawful. Courts in multiple circuits stayed or vacated the rule even before the Trump administration acted.

The Cekada-era repeal eliminates that reclassification entirely, restoring the pre-2023 interpretation that stabilizing braces do not convert a pistol into a short-barreled rifle solely by their presence. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action and the National Shooting Sports Foundation had argued the brace rule exposed between 10 and 40 million gun owners to criminal liability for possessing unregistered NFA items, a figure the Biden DOJ disputed. The repeal ends pending criminal prosecutions that relied solely on the brace rule.

The second major regulatory change revises the 'engaged in the business' rule, which determines when a private seller must obtain a Federal Firearms License and conduct background checks on buyers. The Biden administration finalized a broad interpretation of 'engaged in the business' in April 2024 pursuant to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, requiring anyone who 'predominantly earns a profit' from gun sales — even at gun indicates or online — to obtain an FFL and run NICS background checks. Republican lawmakers and gun rights groups challenged it as effectively requiring universal background checks through the administrative back door.

The revised Trump-era rule narrows the 'engaged in the business' definition back toward the pre-2024 interpretation, reducing the circumstances under which private sellers need licenses. Gun violence prevention advocates warned this will create a large gap in the background check system, allowing more guns to be sold without checks. The Brady Campaign said in a statement that narrowing 'engaged in the business' 'will send more guns into the hands of people who shouldn't have them.'

A third reform revises the ATF's machine gun definition in response to the Supreme Court's June 2024 Garland v. Cargill ruling. In Cargill, a 6-3 majority held that bump stocks — devices that use a rifle's recoil to allow faster semi-automatic firing — do not constitute machine guns under the National Firearms Act because they require separate physical actions with each shot. The Court ruled that ATF had exceeded its statutory authority when it classified bump stocks as machine guns under the 2018 rule issued under Trump's first term and later maintained by Biden.

ATF is now revising its machine gun definition regulations to align with Cargill. The specific regulatory change clarifies that only devices that fire truly automatically from a single sustained trigger function qualify as machine guns under the NFA. Everytown for Gun Safety noted that bump stocks allow semi-automatic rifles to fire up to 800 rounds per minute, and that one was used in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 60 people. The regulatory change cannot restore the bump stock ban without new legislation from Congress.

The package makes significant changes to Form 4473, the federal firearms transaction record that every licensed dealer must complete for each sale. The revised rule allows electronic completion of Form 4473 rather than requiring paper originals, enables electronic submission of NFA transfer forms, and extends the period that NICS background check results remain valid. The reform also replaces the current practice of indefinite retention of Form 4473 records by FFLs with a definite retention period of either 20 or 30 years depending on the transaction type.

ATF's 'New Era of Reform' initiative acknowledged that Form 4473 errors account for seven of the top ten ATF compliance violations cited during FFL inspections. The administration said the Biden-era zero-tolerance enforcement policy had led to a nearly six-fold increase in enforcement actions against FFLs, including revocations of licenses for minor paperwork mistakes by small gun dealers. The revised rule shifts enforcement emphasis from paperwork errors to 'willful violators and criminal actors,' and the shift to electronic forms aims to reduce inadvertent compliance failures by automating required fields.

Gun violence prevention organizations, including Everytown for Gun Safety and the Brady Campaign, criticized the package sharply. They argued that weakening the 'engaged in the business' definition would undermine universal background check requirements that Congress enacted through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Critics also said that shortening 4473 retention periods from indefinite to 20 or 30 years would eventually deprive law enforcement of records needed to trace crime guns — since some firearms remain in circulation for more than 20 years after original sale.

The administration countered that enforcement actions against licensed dealers had increased nearly sixfold under Biden without corresponding reductions in gun crime. ATF data indicated that the number of FFL revocations had risen sharply from 2021 to 2024. Blanche said many of those revocations targeted 'mom-and-pop shop small businesses who made innocent paperwork errors' rather than intentional bad actors, and that the new enforcement philosophy would concentrate resources on traffickers and violent offenders.

The 34 regulatory notices include both final rules that take effect immediately and proposed rules that are open for public comment, typically for 90 days through Regulations.gov. The distinction matters because proposed rules can be modified or withdrawn based on public comment, while final rules carry legal weight unless challenged in court. Legal challenges are expected from gun control groups, who may argue that some of the rule changes exceed ATF's statutory authority under the Gun Control Act — particularly the narrowing of 'engaged in the business,' which was specifically broadened by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that Congress passed in 2022.

Challenges could also come from Second Amendment advocacy groups who want rules repealed entirely rather than revised. The regulatory review was specifically authorized by Executive Order 14206's directive to the Attorney General to deliver a plan to 'eliminate all infringements' on Second Amendment rights, language that sets up potential legal conflict between the executive order's mandate and the statutory limits that Congress placed on ATF's authority. Courts will ultimately decide which specific provisions survive challenge.