The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) are rescinding the Biden administration’s “zero tolerance” policy aimed at revoking the licenses of gun sellers over trivial clerical errors.
The DOJ announced on Monday that it had repealed the policy, which harshly punished firearms dealers for making small mistakes while filling out paperwork required by the federal government. Upon taking office, President Donald Trump ordered the DOJ and ATF to review their policies to determine which ones violated the Second Amendment.
From The Washington Post:
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that she would rescind a Biden-era gun policy that yanked licenses from federally licensed firearm dealers if they intentionally falsified records or sold weapons without running a background check.
The policy — known as the “zero-tolerance” policy — was viewed by conservatives as a punitive rule that stripped law-abiding gun sellers of their licenses for making simple mistakes on forms. But Biden administration officials said the rule was intended to crack down on “rogue gun dealers.” They said it specifies that officials would only revoke licenses if sellers committed willful violations of the federal Gun Control Act, not for paperwork errors.
Trump administration officials also said Monday in a news release that they plan to examine the framework of two other Biden-era gun regulations: One that required more checks on people who purchase stabilizing braces — an accessory that effectively transforms pistols into more deadly rifles — and another that required more sellers to get federal licenses and conduct background checks.
Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, issued a statement praising the move.
For years, the Zero Tolerance Policy has been a tool of political retribution—targeting gun stores and Americans who were simply trying to exercise their rights. We applaud President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and Director Kash Patel for listening to gun owners and taking action to repeal this abusive policy. This is what pro-gun leadership looks like
Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement said, “This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right” and that Biden’s policy “unfairly targeted law-abiding gun owners and created an undue burden on Americans seeking to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms – it ends today.”
Under this policy, 415 firearms dealers kept their licenses after being targeted by the government. But 650 lost their licenses after failing an inspection between 2021 and 2024, according to The Washington Post.
The anti-gunner lobby is unhappy about this development. Giffords in a post on X claimed President Trump “doesn’t care about our safety. He cares about helping his gun CEO friends profit off of violence in our communities.”
🚨 NEW: Trump just repealed the ATF’s zero tolerance policy, putting reckless gun dealers who knowingly sold to traffickers and criminals back in business.
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) April 7, 2025
Trump doesn’t care about our safety. He cares about helping his gun CEO friends profit off of violence in our communities.
The ”zero tolerance” policy was one of several methods the Biden administration used to crack down on gun ownership since he could not get enough support in Congress to enact his comprehensive anti-gunner agenda. It was an arbitrary policy that threatened the livelihoods of gun sellers who happened to make a mistake while filling out various forms.
It was a clear effort to attack the right to keep and bear arms by harassing those who manufacture or sell guns. The fact that the Trump administration has tossed the policy into the garbage can where it belongs is a positive sign for those who value gun rights.
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