In April, the DOJ restored actor Mel Gibson’s gun rights, which had been revoked in 2011. Last January, the Trump administration named Gibson, along with actors Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight, as special ambassadors to Hollywood.
While criticized by some in the legacy media, the decision to give Gibson back his rights underscores the Trump administration’s broader philosophy: If someone has served their sentence and paid their debt and are no longer a threat to themselves or others, then their constitutional rights, including their right to keep and bear arms, should be restored.
The Trump administration is not just playing favorites; it has begun a broader effort to restore the rights of individuals who have paid a price and are no longer a danger to themselves or others.
On March 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule entitled, “Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority.” This could, for the first time since 1992, allow federally prohibited persons to petition for restoration of their Second Amendment rights. (The rule took immediate effect on March 20, but the DOJ will accept comments on the measure up to June 18.)
Though it has long been extremely difficult for someone to get their Second Amendment rights restored, the Gun Control Act (GCA) did offer an option to petition to “the Attorney General for relief from the disabilities imposed by Federal laws[.]” The Attorney General is empowered to “grant such relief if it is established to his satisfaction that the circumstances regarding the disability, and the applicant’s record and reputation, are such that the applicant will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not be contrary to the public interest.”
That program had been administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)—indeed, from 1981 to 1991, some 5,598 individuals did get their right to keep and bear arms back via this process. In 1992, however, Congress passed an appropriations rider defunding the ATF’s administration of this program. The Trump administration is now moving to change this.
