The Wall Street Journal reported on August 18 that U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is launching a new process that will allow individuals who lost their gun rights due to felony convictions to apply for the restoration of those rights.
The Justice Department said the new rule, announced Monday, is expected to draw a flood of applications from people previously barred from owning firearms. According to estimates, around 330,000 individuals could apply to the DOJ in the first year of the program.
Blanche commented: “The rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment are not second-class rights, and the federal government should not permanently strip American citizens of their constitutional rights without considering whether they pose a threat to public safety.”
He added: “This rule establishes a rigorous and reasonable process that protects public safety while offering a path to restore rights for Americans who deserve that opportunity.”
The Second Amendment states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It represents the right of Americans to possess and carry weapons.
Previously, federal law prohibited individuals sentenced to more than one year in prison from possessing firearms. The ban also applied to fugitives, illegal entrants, dishonorably discharged veterans, and those convicted of domestic violence.
The DOJ stated that the new rule will still prohibit undocumented immigrants, registered sex offenders, and violent criminals from possessing guns. The department estimates that nearly 30 million Americans are currently barred from gun ownership due to criminal convictions.
In the past, individuals with criminal records could restore their gun rights if pardoned. However, last year, the DOJ fired the official in charge of pardon matters because that official opposed restoring actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights — Gibson had entered a no-contest plea to a domestic violence charge in 2011.
Previously, there was another federal path to restoring gun rights, but Congress had for years blocked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from processing such applications.
Last year, the DOJ removed the bureau’s role in this process. Under the new rule, the authority to restore gun rights now falls under the Attorney General’s office, which is expected to begin accepting applications in about a month.
In response, U.S. netizens sarcastically remarked: “I think Trump has a point — America is severely lacking in heavily armed felons!”
