Pam Bondi says the proposed changes will be a move against gun control groups, giving her discretion as to who can own the firearm.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondy has begun the process of making it easier for criminally convicted individuals to own a gun.
Friday’s move comes amid wider push by President Donald Trump criticising firearm ownership restrictions as a violation of the Second Amendment of the Constitution in order to keep his campaign promises to gun rights groups. Trump ordered a review of the government’s gun policy in February.
Meanwhile, gun control advocates have expressed concern over the administration’s ability to properly assess the absence of public safety risks for convicted individuals.
In a statement released Friday, Bondi said that individuals who have been seriously criminally convicted are “all rights enforced by the constitutional right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to exercise their freedom of religion, whether they pose a threat or not.”
“Now,” she added.
Under the plan, Bondy is about to return power to determine whether an individual convicted of a crime can own a firearm directly in her office.
That exemption process is currently being overseen by the Bureau of Alcohol, cigarettes, firearms and explosives. However, for decades, Congress has used its spending approval capabilities to prevent it from processing exemption requests.
The Justice Department said the proposed changes “have the means for citizens whose firearms’ rights are currently under legal disability to restore firearms while protecting them from the hands of dangerous criminals and illegal aliens.”
According to the department, the U.S. Attorney General will have “the ultimate discretion to grant relief.”
“Without extraordinary circumstances,” he added that certain individuals will become “probably ineligible” to restore gun rights. They say “violent felons, registered sex offenders, and illegal aliens.”
The plan was outlined in the “suggested rules” filed on the federal register on Friday. It will take a final public comment period before it is hired.
In a statement Friday, US pardon lawyer Edward Martin Jr. said his team is already “developing a landing page with a sophisticated and easy-to-use platform for Americans petitioning for gun rights back.”
When details of Bondy’s plan first appeared in March, gun control group Brady was one of those who expressed opposition.
“If gun rights are restored to individuals, they must be through a robust and thoughtful system that minimizes risks to public safety,” group president Chris Brown said in a statement.
She added that because of their role in the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol storm, Trump has raised concerns about how gun rights to convicted people have restored their gun rights and then the administration will exercise its discretion.
“This is a one-sided system to revert gun rights to people at risk and high risk, and we all will be at a higher risk of gun violence,” she said.
