The federal government is unwinding a long list of gun rules. The Justice Department and the ATF are moving to repeal or soften dozens of firearms regulations, in a deregulation effort that has become one of the clearest dividing lines between the two sides of the gun debate.
What is changing
Among the most significant steps, the ATF is rescinding a 2023 rule that had reclassified pistols fitted with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles subject to stricter federal controls, The Reload reported. The agency is also conforming its rules to a 2024 Supreme Court decision, Garland v. Cargill, which struck down a federal ban on bump stocks after finding the ATF had exceeded its authority.
The department has gone further in other areas. It has taken the position that a nearly century-old federal prohibition on mailing handguns to individuals is unconstitutional, a change that could allow firearms to be shipped to residential addresses, the National Rifle Association said. The ATF is also partly rolling back a 2024 rule that had expanded licensing requirements for gun dealers, saying the measure had not produced the effects that were expected. Separately, a $200 federal tax on suppressors and certain short-barreled firearms was eliminated at the start of 2026 through legislation signed last year, though registration requirements remain.
The Washington Post, which reported on the scope of the effort, described a rapid and wide-ranging rollback across the agency, in its reporting on the changes.
The case for the changes
Gun-rights groups have welcomed the moves in strong terms. The NRA has described the shift as a "golden age of the Second Amendment," NPR reported. Lawrence Keane, a senior vice president at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents the firearms industry, called it "the dawning of a new era," according to The Washington Post.
The Justice Department has framed the changes as modernizing outdated rules, aligning federal policy with recent court decisions that limited the ATF's authority, and easing what it calls unnecessary burdens on lawful dealers and gun owners.
The case against them
Gun-control and violence-prevention groups have sharply opposed the rollback. John Feinblatt, the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said the administration was moving to "gut commonsense gun safety laws and sabotage the only federal agency dedicated to keeping guns out of criminal hands," as cited by Everytown. Kris Brown, the president of Brady, argued that loosening the rules runs counter to efforts to reduce violent crime.
Advocates have focused particular concern on the prospect of mail-order handgun deliveries, warning it could make it harder to keep firearms from people barred from having them and could enable straw purchases and theft, the group Giffords said.
A fight that will continue
Many of the changes are still working their way through the formal rule-making process, which includes public comment and is likely to draw legal challenges. What is clear is the direction: after years in which federal firearms rules were tightened, the current administration is loosening them, and each side sees the stakes as high. The coming months of comment periods and court fights will determine how much of the rollback ultimately takes effect.
