Trump DOJ Opens Gun Rights Restoration for Felons via Online Portal
The Trump administration, through Attorney General Todd Blanche, finalized a rule allowing people convicted of felonies to petition for restoration of gun ownership rights via an online portal. The process, which circumvents a 1992 congressional ban on federal processing of such applications, marks the latest in the administration’s systematic dismantling of firearm regulations. Blanche framed the rule as protecting the Second Amendment while assessing individual danger to public safety.
The Justice Department stated that restorations will be evaluated case-by-case, denying applicants with violent crime convictions, registered sex offenders, undocumented immigrants, and those deemed threats to public safety, except under “extraordinary circumstances.” However, the Trump administration has already restored gun rights to convicted January 6 insurrectionists and domestic abusers through pardon actions, contradicting claims of rigorous safety screening.
Kris Brown, president of Brady, the gun violence prevention organization, directly criticized the administration’s track record on firearm policy, stating the Trump administration “has no such discretion” and has “consistently” rolled back crime-prevention regulations. Brown documented the administration’s pattern of restoring gun rights to individuals with histories of violence and domestic abuse, demonstrating the rule serves ideological gun deregulation rather than evidence-based public safety.
The rule expansion follows earlier Trump administration moves including reinstatement of the gun show loophole, allowing firearm purchases without background checks, and abandonment of challenges to regulations on firearm suppressors. These actions represent coordinated dismantling of federal gun safety infrastructure across multiple regulatory fronts.