Justice Department and ATF Move to Roll Back Dozens of Gun Regulations

The Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives moved to roll back roughly three dozen federal firearms regulations, according to reporting the week of July 5, 2026. The proposals include rescinding a rule intended to close the 'gun show loophole,' easing restrictions on short-barreled rifles and bump stocks, and narrowing which people with mental-health histories are barred from owning firearms. The department has separately directed its Civil Rights Division to sue states including California and Virginia over their firearms restrictions and assault-weapons bans. An ATF analysis cited by The Trace and PBS warned that loosening one mental-health-related rule could increase the risk of mass-casualty events; acting Attorney General Todd Blanche disputed that conclusion.

The package is one of the most sweeping federal firearms-deregulation efforts in years, and it redirects the Civil Rights Division — historically focused on voting rights and school desegregation — toward Second Amendment enforcement, raising questions about agency mission and about the weight given to the department's own safety assessments.

Most of the measures are proposed rules subject to public notice-and-comment and are not yet final. Related litigation against state firearm laws is pending, and the Supreme Court is set to hear challenges to assault-weapons bans in its next term.