Why it Matters

About one million people who are currently prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law could become eligible to apply to have their gun rights restored under a proposed Department of Justice rule. The proposal would revive a federal relief program that has been effectively dormant for more than three decades after Congress barred the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from using appropriated funds to process applications beginning in 1992. The proposal sits at the intersection of criminal justice reform, Second Amendment rights and executive authority, raising questions about who should regain firearms rights and how much discretion the executive branch should exercise in making those determinations.

The Big Picture

The Gun Control Act prohibits nine categories of people from possessing firearms, including people convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, fugitives from justice, unlawful users of or persons addicted to controlled substances, individuals adjudicated as mental defectives or committed to mental institutions, certain noncitizens, people dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces, those who have renounced U.S. citizenship, people subject to qualifying domestic violence protective orders and those convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. The law also authorizes the attorney general to restore firearms rights through a process established under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c).

That process effectively ceased in 1992, when Congress began including appropriations riders prohibiting ATF from using funds to investigate or act on restoration applications. The Supreme Court reinforced the practical effect of those restrictions in United States v. Bean (2002), holding that federal courts cannot review or grant relief when ATF has not acted on an application because Congress barred the agency from processing it.

On March 20, 2025, the Department of Justice issued an interim final rule withdrawing ATF's delegated authority to administer the program, citing the longstanding appropriations restrictions. The department subsequently published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on July 22, 2025, establishing a framework for the attorney general to evaluate applications directly.

The proposed framework attempts to balance restoration opportunities with public safety considerations. It identifies categories of applicants who would be presumptively ineligible absent extraordinary circumstances, including fugitives from justice, unlawful users of or persons addicted to controlled substances, people unlawfully present in the United States, individuals subject to qualifying domestic violence protective orders and people currently serving a criminal sentence or under criminal supervision. It also identifies presumptively disqualifying offenses, including homicide, sexual abuse offenses, human trafficking, kidnapping, domestic violence, robbery, carjacking, arson, racketeering, terrorism and felony drug manufacturing or distribution.

For applicants outside those categories, the proposal establishes waiting periods. Offenses with a direct relationship to violence, including felony drug distribution, misdemeanor domestic violence, violent threats and firearm- or explosives-related offenses, generally would require a 10-year waiting period after completion of all terms of supervision. Other eligible nonviolent, nonsexual offenses generally would require a five-year waiting period. Potentially eligible applicants include individuals convicted of certain nonviolent felonies, those adjudicated as mental defectives, people dishonorably discharged from the military, those who renounced U.S. citizenship and certain people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses that did not involve firearms or lethal violence.

The department estimates approximately 1 million applications would be submitted during the first year and proposes a $20 application fee to help offset administrative costs. The proposal also makes clear that federal relief would not override independent state firearms prohibitions and would not protect individuals who later become subject to a new firearms disability.

Political Stakes

The proposal comes as federal firearms restrictions continue to receive close scrutiny from the courts. In June 2026, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Hemani, holding that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) does not categorically prohibit firearm possession by every person who uses a controlled substance outside its prescribed purpose without considering individualized circumstances. That ruling potentially narrows one of the categories the proposed rule treats as presumptively ineligible, creating potential tension between the proposed regulatory framework and recent Supreme Court precedent.

For the administration, the proposal represents an effort to implement an authority that Congress left in statute but effectively suspended through appropriations restrictions. It seeks to balance expanded opportunities for restoring firearms rights with public safety through structured eligibility standards rather than purely discretionary decision-making. The proposed waiting periods and presumptively disqualifying offenses may also reduce criticism that the process would be overly permissive.

For Republicans, the proposal may raise questions about whether the eligibility standards sufficiently protect public safety. For Democrats, the proposal may draw criticism from criminal justice reform advocates who argue that the waiting periods and presumptive disqualifications remain too restrictive, particularly following the Hemani decision.

For the public, the proposal raises competing interests involving restoration of constitutional rights and protection of public safety. The department estimates roughly 1 million people could seek relief during the program's first year, while the proposed framework reflects policy judgments about which criminal histories or legal disabilities should continue to prevent firearm possession.

The Bottom Line

The Department of Justice has proposed reviving a federal firearms rights restoration process that has remained effectively unavailable for more than three decades because of annual congressional appropriations restrictions. The proposal establishes eligibility standards, waiting periods and application procedures while preserving broad discretion for the attorney general to grant or deny relief.

With an estimated 1 million applications anticipated during the first year and recent Supreme Court decisions reshaping Second Amendment jurisprudence, the proposal is likely to face continued legal, political and policy scrutiny before a final rule is issued. The proposed rule's public comment period closed in 2025, and the department has not yet issued a final rule.

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