First Amendment

Trump Administration Continues Push for Liberalized Gun Rules

The ATF is reconsidering some of its dumber regulations as the feds sue states with restrictive gun laws.

J.D. Tuccille | 7.8.2026 7:00 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

Waiting for the government to shed power and voluntarily reduce its intrusions into people's lives can be an exercise in frustration, but gun owners are getting some welcome news from the feds. Through administrative action, litigation, and promises of legislation, the Trump administration is reversing some of the anti-gun policies implemented by the Biden administration and otherwise offering a little more breathing room for people who want to own, buy, and sell firearms.

You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason. Get more of J.D.'s commentary on government overreach and threats to everyday liberty.

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'Scrapping More Than Three Dozen Firearms Regulations'

"The Trump administration is scrapping more than three dozen firearms regulations, abandoning a crackdown on illegal sales, restoring gun rights to some people with mental illness, and loosening oversight of private weapons transactions," Aishvarya Kavi of The New York Times reported over the weekend.

As is often the case in an age when much "law" involves administrative interpretations of deliberately vague statutes, many of the changes involve White House-directed reinterpretations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). I've reported on such changes in the past and the latest proposed reinterpretations appear even more substantial.

Unsurprisingly, given the........

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