The DOJ Wants to Roll Back ATF Regulations
Last November, Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a strong message about her Justice Department’s stance on firearms. In a post on X, she wrote that, “My Justice Department will continue to be the most pro-Second Amendment Justice Department in history.”
Nearly three months after Bondi’s statement, a recent Washington Post report reveals that the Department is considering a slew of changes to ATF rules. These range from loosening restrictions on private gun sales and imports to removing bans on shipping firearms and refunding permitting fees, as well as changing how respondents are asked to list their sex on gun purchase forms.
What do American gun owners really think of gun regulation? And how does this compare with the prospective rule changes? Our most recent polls of gun owners help answer these questions.
What Do Gun Owners Think?
First off, our research over time has consistently shown that gun owners are generally supportive of common-sense gun safety measures. For one thing, gun owners don’t all fit the popular stereotype—conservative-leaning, mostly white, mostly male, mainly rural. Gun ownership has been growing among women, young people, people of color, and liberal-learners, meaning this group is far more diverse than many Americans believe.
In our latest survey, conducted in October 2025, a sweeping majority of the more than 3,000 gun owners we polled worry about being personally impacted by gun-related violence. And a number of specific policies enjoy strong gun owner support, something that holds across partisan lines and transcends traditional urban-rural and even generational differences.
Three policies from our latest survey stand out:
Background Checks: Nearly universal support for comprehensive background checks, particularly when processed within set timeframes.
Restrictions on Felons: A large majority supports restrictions on gun access for individuals with felony convictions.
Dealer Inspections: More than three-quarters of gun owners rate dealer inspections for compliance with federal laws as “extremely” or “very” important, with over 90% calling them at least “somewhat important.”
Dealer inspections are a function of the ATF, and there is overwhelming support for the agency’s other key functions too, including investigating illegal gun trafficking, reducing regulatory burdens on law-abiding gun owners, and enforcing existing firearm regulations. This challenges the assumption that gun owners have an adversarial view of the ATF.
Gun owners’ policy preferences also contradict many of the proposed ATF changes.
Rolling Back Restrictions on Private Sale
The ATF imposes a number of restrictions on the private sale of firearms limiting the sale of firearms to unlicensed individuals without background checks. These rules were tightened during the Biden presidency, when Gun Control Act (GCA) regulations were extended to private transactions. Under these rules, anyone who qualifies as a dealer is required to have a license and conduct National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks.
Universal background checks are associated with lower rates of firearm mortality, and they are supported by 85% of gun owners, according to our research. Furthermore, 62% of gun owners support state-level permit requirements. Both of these policies would be undermined by unregulated private sale, so maintaining the current rules seems better aligned with gun owners’ preferences. However, not surprisingly, there are partisan differences on the issue.
Loosening Restrictions on Imports
Rules on gun imports are also mainly enforced through the GCA, with importable firearms being limited to those which are used for “sporting” purposes. Such restrictions are aimed at reducing the circulation of weapons and paraphernalia used in violent crime, such as so-called “ghost guns,” and making them traceable to support investigation when they are.
These goals are supported by gun owners–63% support standardizing ghost gun kits and firearm piece purchases with serial numbers, and 52% support limiting the sale or transfer of high-capacity magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition. Loosening certain restrictions on firearms imports has the potential to undermine these important crime-reduction policies.
Rolling Back Rules on Shipping Firearms
Another change reportedly under consideration is rolling back restrictions on shipping firearms. This aligns with the DOJ’s landmark opinion earlier this month that found that the U.S. Postal Service’s more than a century-old ban on shipping handguns violates the 2nd Amendment. It’s unclear what the ATF’s own rule changes might ultimately look like, but the DOJ did maintain support of bans on mailing ammunition or gunpowder.
Besides safety concerns, restrictions like the USPS ban are often aimed at curbing illegal gun trafficking—not operations related to the military, law enforcement, or licensed gun dealers and manufacturers. While we didn’t explicitly ask gun owners how they view issues related to shipping firearms, their overall safety and anti-trafficking positions suggest some opposition to this rollback is likely too.
What Comes Next?
Wherever policy changes might threaten gun safety, the stance of gun owners is clear: common-sense gun safety measures are vital to ensure that guns don’t end up in the wrong hands. However, it’s still unclear what the specific changes might be, and what kinds of consequences they might have.
The ATF’s current Deputy Director, Robert Cekada, who fielded questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee last week as part of the confirmation process to lead the agency, seems poised to support the proposed changes—with some Congressional pushback. Any changes to ATF rules also are subject to Constitutional interpretation and should be expected to face rigorous legal challenges.
In the face of this uncertainty, and with so much other news competing for your time, stay informed with 97Percent.