Attorney General Jennifer Davenport co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general warning that the Trump Administration’s rollback of common-sense firearms regulations will endanger their communities, many of which have seen levels of gun violence drop dramatically in recent years. The post AG Davenport Condemns ATF’s Proposed Rollback of Gun Regulations appeared first on New Jersey Office of Attorney General.
What happened
– Jennifer Davenport, Attorney General
The states argue that in advancing these changes, the ATF is unlawfully abandoning its core duty to protect the public and to faithfully carry out the laws Congress enacted.
Key details
These proposed changes simply make no sense.”
To one degree or another, the proposals conflict with various federal laws, exceed the ATF’s authority, and clash with prior Supreme Court rulings.
Many have been offered without meaningful evidence or explanation, and many come in the wake of undue and undisclosed industry influence.
Weaken the Brady Act background check process.
The bipartisan Brady Act of 1993, enacted after the attempted assassination of President Reagan, imposed strict background checks.
Reopen dangerous loopholes by undermining licensing for gun dealers.
The proposal violates the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
Erode identity checks for gun buyers who do not shop in person.
This unlawful proposal risks opening the floodgates to online purchases, including to people at risk of hurting themselves or others, to children, and to gun traffickers.
Contrary to a Supreme Court ruling, the proposal reinterprets the historic Gun Control Act of 1968 to allow remote identity verification—something Congress has not authorized.
Dilute the ban on straw purchasing.
The ATF wants to exempt certain purchases from being treated as illegal straw purchases.
The states argue that the proposal defies U.S.
Supreme Court precedent and federal law, exceeds the ATF’s legal authority, and is arbitrary and capricious.
Undermine the ability to hold bad-actor gun dealers accountable.
Make it easier to import military-style weapons and parts.
Through two separate proposals, the ATF wants to make it easier to import guns and gun parts into the country.
End posted warnings about the dangers of handguns to children.
Gun dealers are required to post written notices about the Youth Handgun Safety Act.
These notices warn buyers about the dangers handguns pose to young people and make clear that transferring a handgun to someone under 18 is generally illegal.
The states argue that the ATF wrongly claims it lacks authority to require these notices, ignores the notices’ proven benefits, and is inviting an increase in gun violence.
Create dangerous confusion over stabilizing braces.
Stabilizing braces can be used to convert pistols into more lethal shoulder-fired weapons.
The ATF wants to rescind an existing rule that clarified how these devices are regulated without putting forward any replacement rule.
Allow banned gun accessories to cross state lines.
Federal law governs the transport of firearms and ammunition across state lines during travel.
Background and context
“ATF’s plan to deregulate firearms will put New Jerseyans at risk and erode the tremendous gains we have made in reducing gun violence over the past few years,” said Attorney General Davenport.
What officials said
This past spring, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced it would “reform” 34 firearms regulations—yet as a raft of comment letters submitted by the states demonstrate, many of these so-called reforms unlawfully abdicate ATF’s responsibility to keep the public safe.
In addition to endangering families simply going about their days, this effort to eviscerate sensible gun regulations will also imperil law enforcement and first responders, who regularly put themselves in harm’s way to protect or rescue us.
A “straw purchase” occurs when someone buys a gun on behalf of another person who is legally barred from buying one themselves—for example, a convicted felon.
Federal law allows the ATF to revoke the license of a gun dealer who “willfully” violates the law.
The ATF now wants to raise the bar for what counts as a “willful” violation, making it far harder to strip dangerous gun dealers of their licenses.
One would permit the import of “non-sporting”—that is, military-type—weapon parts, such as barrels, frames, and receivers from AK-47s and similar firearms, as long as the part could theoretically be used in some sporting weapon.
The ATF wants to add vague new language covering all “reasonably necessary activities incidental to interstate travel.” The states object because the proposal would improperly expand the law to permit banned accessories—like large-capacity magazines and rapid-fire modification devices—to be transported through jurisdictions that prohibit them.
Why it matters to residents
At the same time, the gun industry stands to profit off these changes at the expense of public safety.
In a series of comment letters submitted between July 6 and August 6, the multistate coalition outlines the risks to public safety posed by these massive deregulatory changes and urges the ATF to abandon or revise many of these proposals.
The states argue that both proposals violate the plain text of federal laws and were adopted without consideration of the public safety consequences.
The states argue that leaving a regulatory vacuum is reckless and that the ATF failed to weigh the public safety costs and enforcement confusion that will follow.
What happens next
TRENTON – Attorney General Jennifer Davenport co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general warning that the Trump Administration’s rollback of common-sense firearms regulations will endanger their communities, many of which have seen levels of gun violence drop dramatically in recent years.
As detailed in the letters, these illogical proposals would undo years of bipartisan progress aimed at reducing gun violence.
If enacted, the proposed rules would:
ATF’s unlawful proposal to exempt purchases by individuals with certain state-issued permits from background checks would undermine that system, increasing the risk of dangerous felons and other prohibited individuals unlawfully obtaining firearms and of illegal weapons trafficking between states.
This proposal would unlawfully reopen loopholes as to who can operate without a federal firearms license (FFL), allowing more people to sell guns without conducting background checks or keeping sale records.
The states warn that this proposed change would create a dangerous loophole allowing prohibited individuals to obtain firearms through middlemen.
The states argue that this change contradicts decades of settled law and would gut the federal licensing system that keeps guns out of the wrong hands.
The other would allow companies to bring these weapons into special trade zones for virtually any purpose.
Source and attribution: Jersey Alerts reviewed the primary official release from NJ Attorney General and any additional sources identified above. Names, dates, figures, quotations, claims and characterizations remain attributed to their cited source unless Jersey Alerts states that they were independently confirmed.
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