Trump Administration Moves to Restore Felons’ Gun Rights

[Guno צְבִי]

The Justice Department expects 330,000 people to apply to reclaim ability to own firearms under a new regulation​

WASHINGTON—Attorney General Todd Blanche is launching a new process that allows individuals who lost their gun rights because of felony convictions to apply to have them reinstated.

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www.wsj.com

 

[Diogenes]

On August 17, 2026, Attorney General Todd Blanche finalized a DOJ rule establishing a new process under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) that allows certain people prohibited from possessing firearms (including many with felony convictions) to apply for restoration of their federal gun rights.

Key details from the official DOJ announcement and reporting​

• The rule implements the long-existing statutory authority for the Attorney General to grant individualized relief from federal firearms disabilities. Congress has blocked ATF from using appropriated funds to process such applications since 1992, rendering the process effectively unavailable for most people for over three decades. The Trump DOJ previously withdrew the delegation to ATF (via an interim final rule in 2025) and proposed a new framework; this is the final rule.
• Not automatic or blanket restoration. Applicants must show that the circumstances of their prohibition, plus their record, reputation, and subsequent conduct, demonstrate they are “not likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety” and that relief would not be contrary to the public interest. Decisions are case-by-case.
• Strong presumptions against relief for violent felons, registered sex offenders, illegal aliens, and others who present an ongoing danger (absent extraordinary circumstances). Relief removes only federal disabilities and does not override independent state-law restrictions.
• The Justice Department estimates roughly 330,000 applications in the first year (the figure cited in the forum post/WSJ reporting). Earlier projections during the proposed-rule stage were higher (around 1 million). Applications will go through a new online process via the Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Program site (justice.gov/ffrr). The rule takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication; limited application windows are planned initially (e.g., first 5,000 candidates after a waiting period).

The forum thread (started very recently by user Guno) is essentially a short post quoting/linking the Wall Street Journal coverage of the same announcement, with the headline and the 330,000-applicant expectation matching contemporary reporting from Fox News, Newsweek, AP, and the DOJ press release itself.

Context and caveats​

This revives a process that existed on paper but was functionally blocked by appropriations riders. It fits a broader Trump administration effort to ease certain federal firearms restrictions while emphasizing public-safety screening. Critics (gun-control groups) have raised concerns about volume, screening rigor, and public safety; supporters view it as correcting a de facto permanent loss of a constitutional right for non-dangerous people. Federal relief does not automatically restore rights under state law in restrictive jurisdictions.

In short, the headline and main substance of the linked claim check out based on the official DOJ action announced today.

 

[Lionfish]

The Justice Department expects 330,000 people to apply to reclaim ability to own firearms under a new regulation​

WASHINGTON—Attorney General Todd Blanche is launching a new process that allows individuals who lost their gun rights because of felony convictions to apply to have them reinstated.

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www.wsj.com

Your point? You lefties want to open the prisons and defund the police. Look at this as an opportunity for people like poor anchovies to quack about.

 

[Walt]

How much do you want to bet it is mostly white child molesters?