On April 7, 2025, ATF announced significant policy changes that reversed damaging attacks by the Biden Administration on the rights protected by the Second Amendment. ATF’s announcement include the the repeal of its administratively adopted “adverse action policy” which was commonly referred to as its “zero tolerance” policy. ATF also announced the “review of Final Rule 2021R-08F, related to stabilizing braces, and Final Rule 2022R-17F, related to the definition of “engaging in the business” of firearms dealing.”
These announcements are strong indicators that the appointments by President Trump to the administrative agencies that are responsible for the ATF are now forcing the agency to reconsider whether mandates issued by the Biden Administration and regulatory changes adopted by ATF pursuant to those mandates are having a positive effect by reversing Biden’s open attack on our constitutional rights.
Tennessee Firearms Association and Tennessee Firearms Foundation have made significant investments in pending federal litigation both as a party representing TFA member interests as well as an amicus party often joining hands with Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation and other like-minded advocacy groups to fight the ATF’s actions. These announcements may signal significant victories achieved against the ATF through the investment in this litigation.
The ATF’s announcement continues:
The Enhanced Regulatory Enforcement Policy, aka the Zero Tolerance Policy, was a strategy announced in 2021 that set more stringent criteria for Industry Operations compliance inspections to identify licensees with certain qualifying violations. As of today, this policy will be repealed, and Industry Operations inspections will no longer be held to these previously set guidelines.
Additionally, DOJ and ATF have plans to revisit the regulatory framework surrounding stabilizing braces (Final Rule 2021R-08F) and the definition of “engaged in the business” of firearms dealing (Final Rule 2022R-17F).
“This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right,” said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The prior administration’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy unfairly targeted law-abiding gun owners and created an undue burden on Americans seeking to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms – it ends today.”
“Today’s repeal of the Zero Tolerance Policy and the comprehensive review of stabilizing brace regulations and the definition of ‘engaged in the business’ marks a pivotal step toward restoring fairness and clarity in firearms regulation,” said Acting ATF Director Kash Patel. “We are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure our policies are balanced, constitutional and protective of Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”The decision to review the Stabilizing Brace rule, which sought to reclassify certain firearms as short-barreled rifles, as well as revising the guidelines for determining who is considered “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, reiterates constitutional approaches to firearm regulations.
The DOJ and ATF will conduct an in-depth review over the coming months and will engage in consultations with stakeholders, including gun rights organizations, industry leaders and legal experts. Further updates on the status of these reviews will be released in due course.
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