DOJ Proposes Restoration Of 2nd Amendment Rights For Some Convicted Felons

Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Justice has proposed a rule to restore the Second Amendment rights of people who have been convicted of certain crimes but who are not “likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety.”

The Department submitted the proposed rule “regarding the exercise of the Attorney General’s authority under 18 U.S.C. 925(c) to grant relief to individuals who are otherwise precluded from possessing firearms,” to the Federal Register on Friday.

Federal law rescinds the firearms rights of convicted felons regardless of whether or not they were convicted of a violent crime. The law also empowers the attorney general to restore Second Amendment rights to individuals who are not “likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety.”

No applications have been processed since 1992, when funding for that was blocked by House Democrats.

A July 18 press release from the Justice Department states that President Donald Trump directed the department to “address the ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens—all of them.”

According to the press release, an official copy of the rule will be published on the Federal Register website the week of July 21.

“For too long, countless Americans with criminal histories have been permanently disenfranchised from exercising the right to keep and bear arms—a right every bit as constitutionally enshrined as the right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to free exercise of religion—irrespective of whether they actually pose a threat,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

A Second Amendment advocacy group praised the new rule.

“This proposed rule to grant relief to certain individuals convicted of non-violent crimes is long overdue,” Alan Gottlieb, executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, wrote in an email to The Epoch Times. “The Second Amendment Foundation has been fighting for decades in courts to restore rights to people that are no threat to society.”

Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, echoed those sentiments. He said his organization will continue to support the expansion and preservation of gun rights in America.

“GOA has long supported this effort, and we’re encouraged to see the Department of Justice continue to acknowledge that non-violent citizens should not be denied their constitutional rights,” Pratt wrote in an email to The Epoch Times.

Gun control organizations did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. Past moves to change the longstanding policy drew criticism on the groups’ webpages.

Last March, in a step toward overturning the policy, the DOJ took responsibility for processing the applications from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and gave it to the attorney general.

This changed a policy that had been in place for more than 30 years.

In a March 19 statement on the Everytown for Gun Safety website, the group’s president blasted that change.

“The Trump Administration is throwing out decades of bipartisan precedent and laying the groundwork to put guns back in the hands of domestic abusers and violent criminals,” wrote John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.

The rule proposed on Friday would provide citizens whose firearm rights have been rescinded a way to restore those rights.

The press release states that the attorney general would decide each application on a case-by-case basis. Violent felons, registered sex offenders, and illegal aliens will remain presumptively ineligible for relief, according to the Justice Department press release.

Part of Trump’s Plan

“General Bondi’s support of the rebooted 925(c) program is consistent with President Donald J. Trump’s promise to the American people to support the beautiful Second Amendment,” said U.S. Pardon Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr.

Once the proposed rule is published, the public comment period will begin. Communities that could be affected by a final rule, including law enforcement, victims’ advocates, elected officials, and individuals who would like to apply to have their gun rights restored, as well as the general public, can place comments here once the proposed rule is published.

Pratt said his organization will encourage its members to comment.

“We look forward to working with the grassroots and our members to submit comments to ensure the proposed rule benefits the Second Amendment community and the marginalized individuals who are working to reclaim their rights under the Constitution,” Pratt said.

The Justice Department recommends that individuals seeking the restoration of their firearm rights review and comment on the proposed process rather than submit applications at this time, according to the press release.

Interested parties may view the proposed rule here. An official copy is expected to be published next week, according to the Justice Department.