Attorney General Pam Bondi is advocating for a "clean slate" when it comes to the federal restoration of Second Amendment rights in a proposed rule slated to soon be published in the Federal Register.

Under the proposed rule, the moribund process of rights restoration through an application to the ATF would be rescinded, which isn't that big a change since the system as essentially been unfunded and unable to be used for more than 30 years. What Bondi is hoping to do is to come up with a new system for rights restoration that would actually be available for those hoping to regain their Second Amendment rights, and the anti-gunners are already losing their minds over the proposed change. 

DOJ’s job is to keep the public safe.

But now they’re putting guns BACK in the hands of violent criminals & domestic abusers. A new rule gives @AGPamBondi power to let felons possess guns.

It’s absurd & dangerous. We won't allow it in NJ. Fighting gun violence is our priority. pic.twitter.com/Tax0gvLh0s

— Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) March 19, 2025

Again, there's already a process by which prohibited persons can regain their right to possess a firearm under federal law. It just hasn't been funded in decades. Platkin and other anti-gunners may be fine with that, but courts across the country have already determined that the lifetime prohibition is unconstitutional, at least in some circumstances like non-violent felons or those convicted of a misdmeanor offense punishable by more than a year in prison.   

As for Platkin's assertion that the proposed rule would put guns back in the hands of violent criminals and domestic abusers, let's look at what the proposed rule actually says:

In Executive Order 14206 of February 6, 2025 (Protecting Second Amendment Rights), the President reaffirmed our national commitment to “[t]he Second Amendment [as] an indispensable safeguard of security and liberty,” and directed that “[w]ithin 30 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General shall examine all orders, regulations, guidance, plans, international agreements, and other actions of executive departments and agencies (agencies) to assess any ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens.” 

Consistent with this Order and with the Department’s own strong support for all constitutional rights, including “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” enshrined in the Second Amendment, the Department has begun that review process in earnest and will provide the President with a plan as required by Order 14206. The Department simultaneously recognizes that no constitutional right is limitless; consequently, it also supports existing laws that ensure, for example, that violent and dangerous persons remain disabled from lawfully acquiring firearms.

That alone is enough to debunk Platkin's claim, but the details of Bondi's proposal make it clear that not every prohibited person will regain their Second Amendment rights even if the rule is adopted. 

Although the specific contours of any new approach to the implementation of 18 U.S.C. 925(c) may be refined through future rulemaking, the Attorney General has determined, in an exercise of her discretion under the HSA and 28U.S.C. 509–510, that the appropriate first step is to withdraw the delegation to ATF to administer section 925(c) and withdraw the moribund regulations governing individual applications to ATF for 18 U.S.C. 925(c) relief. Consistent with that rider, the process described under 27 CFR178.144 will not be transferred to any other agency or Department. At the same time, the statute speaks clearly that the authority provided in 18 U.S.C. 925(c) is conferred on the Attorney General, and no applicable statute restricts the Attorney General’s authority in these circumstances to delegate that authority or withdraw a prior delegation or amend prior rules. Thus, the Attorney General is withdrawing her delegation of authority to ATF to implement 18U.S.C. 925(c) by revising a delegation of authority in 28 CFR 0.130 and removing 27 CFR478.144. 

Revising 28 CFR 0.130 and removing 27 CFR 478.144 further provides the Department a clean slate on which to build a new approach to implementing 18 U.S.C. 925(c) without the baggage of no-longer-necessary procedures—e.g., a requirement to file an application “in triplicate,” 27 CFR 478.144(b). With such a clean slate, the Department anticipates future actions, including rulemaking consistent with applicable law, to give full effect to 18 U.S.C.925(c) while simultaneously ensuring that violent or dangerous individuals remain disabled from lawfully acquiring firearms.

The proposed rule is just a first step in developing a system that actually works in practice, and not just in theory. The details of what would replace the current (and unfunded) system aren't laid out in the proposal, so we don't know exactly what it will look like, but it's not just going to wipe the slate clean for every person prohibited under federal law from possessing or purchasing a firearm.