Washington, DC – United States Attorney General Pam Bondi has begun a process to make it easier for individuals with criminal convictions to own guns.
The move on Friday comes amid a wider push by the administration of President Donald Trump to make good on campaign promises to gun rights groups, which criticise restrictions on firearm ownership as violations of the Constitution’s Second Amendment. Trump ordered a review of government gun policies in February.
Gun control advocates, meanwhile, have voiced concerns over the administration’s ability to adequately assess which convicted individuals would not pose a public safety risk.
In a statement released on Friday, Bondi said individuals with serious criminal convictions have been “disenfranchised from exercising the right to keep and bear arms — a right every bit as constitutionally enshrined as the right to vote, the right to free speech, and the right to free exercise of religion — irrespective of whether they actually pose a threat”.
“No longer,” she added.
Under the plan, Bondi seeks to return the power to determine which individuals convicted of crimes can own firearms directly to her office.
That exemption process has currently been overseen by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. However, Congress has, for decades, used its spending approval powers to stem the processing of exemption requests.
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