Any doubts President Trump might backpedal on his commitment to gun owners and the Second Amendment should have been relieved, or at least reduced, by the sweeping executive order he signed Friday, February second.
While most of us hoped for at least some relief from the outrageous excesses of the Biden Administration, Trump’s order goes way beyond that.
In addition to specifically calling for reviews of Biden and the ATF’s activities, including whatever the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention may have done, Trump ordered AG Pam Bondi to look at every federal rule pertaining to firearm regulation and all of the litigation in which the Department of Justice is currently involved.
This could include withdrawing opposition to the Third Circuit’s decision in Range v. Garland (gun rights for non-violent felons), the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in Mock v. Garland (ATF rule on pistols with attached stabilizing braces) and other cases making their way through the federal court system. It could also mean the Trump Administration will press on the Supreme Court to expedite review of cases like Snope v. Brown (gun bans) and Ocean State Tactical v. Rhode Island (magazine bans). It was pressure from the Biden Administration that lead to court accepting the Rahimi case and the court seems to respond to calls from the DOJ for case review.
This also includes review of international agreement, such as the UN Arms Trade Treaty, although the U.S. was never an official signatory (the Senate never ratified it). This has been called the UN Small Arms Treaty, which is incorrect.
AG Bonbi has 30 days to review everything and to present a plan of action that will further secure Americans’ rights to keep and bear arms.
From an administration that despised the civil liberties of Americans to one that wants to restore them: What a welcome change.
