You may have seen in the news that Mel Gibson is among the first to have his federal firearm rights restored under the new presidential administration. (Mel Gibson was convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” as it’s defined by federal law.) Actually, the process itself is not new, but old: in 1988, Congress passed a law stating that the Attorney General must process applications for firearm rights restoration under federal law. (18 U.S.C. 925(c)).
If the application is denied, the applicant can file in federal court to have a federal judge restore his firearm rights. However, the Attorney General’s office has historically delegated that authority to process applications to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (“ATF”). The problem is this: since 1992, Congress has forbidden any of the funds that it provides the ATF to process those applications. Since the applications for restoration of gun rights aren’t being processed, people’s federal rights are not being restored.
In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that the ATF not processing the applications cannot be considered a “denial,” and, therefore, the applicant has no recourse in federal court—he can’t see a federal judge about restoring his rights, even though the statute says he can. United States v. Bean, 537 U.S. 71 (2002).
The new administration has a simple fix: take back the Attorney General’s delegation of authority to the ATF. That is, no longer will the ATF be tasked with processing applications for the restoration of federal gun rights; it will be handled in the Department of Justice.
The official interim rule can be found here:
Now the procedure for restoration of federal firearm rights aligns with the original statutory language: (1) an applicant for restoration applies directly to the Attorney General’s office (or DOJ); (2) if the application is denied, the applicant may file in federal court to have a federal judge decide the matter of restoration.
This process of direct application of federal firearm rights will be especially helpful for those convicted of “misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence” (like Mel Gibson), which, for the majority of cases, means a lifetime federal ban on firearm possession.
