Donald Trump is promising to bring sweeping changes to Washington, D.C. when he resumes office in just a couple of months, but will that include a reversal of some of the DOJ’s prosecutions of gun owners?
It’s easy for Trump to undo Biden’s executive actions, but according to law professor Jonathan Adler, it’s a little more complicated to reverse the DOJ’s legal actions.
“The court likes to think that the federal government has a fairly consistent position, and so your changes in position are kind of disfavored, but obviously can occur in cases and contexts where the position of the Justice Department reflects the policy views of the new administration,” Adler said.
Roll Call reports there are about a half-dozen cases involving the DOJ that are pending before the Supreme Court, including a Biden administration challenge to Tennessee’s law restricting gender-affirming care for minors. But in that case, it’s not just the Justice Department that’s suing. There are several individual plaintiffs and groups like Lambda Legal that are also involved in litigation, which could keep the case alive even if Trump’s DOJ halts its involvement.
That’s not the case for Garland v. Vanderstok, a challenge to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule from 2022 that requires that sales of those gun parts kits comply with federal rules for commercially made guns, such as serial numbers, background checks and recordkeeping.
The justices heard oral arguments in that case in October but have yet to issue a decision. Adler said that it’s possible a reversal by the Trump administration could impact the outcome.
“If there’s some kind of pending challenge to a rulemaking it is common for the new administration to come in and tell courts ‘Hey we’re reconsidering this regulation, can you please put things on hold?’” Adler said.
It’s not just Vanderstok. There are also pending legal challenges to the ATF’s rules treating most brace-equipped pistols as short-barreled rifles, prohibiting binary triggers, and expanding the definition of who is “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms. If Trump rescinds those rules, there’s no reason for the lawsuits to continue.
There’s every reason to believe that Trump will undo most, if not all, of Biden’s executive actions once he takes office. A bigger question is what Trump’s Attorney General will do with several cases dealing with prohibited persons. In Garland v. Range, for instance, Merrick Garland is trying to block a Pennsylvania man who pled guilty to a non-violent misdemeanor 30 years ago from having his right to keep and bear arms restored.
U.S. v Daniels is another case that could soon be before the Supreme Court. Patrick Darnell Daniels was arrested and prosecuted for possessing a firearm as an unlawful user of drugs after he admitted to police that he used marijuana about 14 times a month. Biden’s DOJ maintains that Daniels (and every other pot smoker) are too dangerous to exercise their Second Amendment rights, and is seeking to uphold the 46-month sentence Daniels received for violating 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3).
Garland has taken the position that “serious” violations of the law should lead to a lifetime deprivation of your Second Amendment rights, while leaving it up to Congress to define what a “serious” crime actually is. Under current statute, any crime that can be punished by more than a year in prison is cause to lose your Second Amendment rights, even if it’s a non-violent offense like Bryan Range’s falsifying his income on a food stamp application in the 1990s or Patrick Daniels possessing a gun while regularly using marijuana.
Several Second Amendment groups have filed briefs in support of Range and Daniels, but where Trump’s DOJ will come down on these cases is an open question. Trump ran on a law-and-order platform, but he’s also pledged to protect the right to keep and bear arms. Those two positions could soon be in conflict, and prove to be one of Trump’s first tests when it comes to defending the Second Amendment.
I’m cautiously optimistic that whoever Trump picks as Attorney General will side with 2A groups in these cases, and I’m confident that Trump’s next term will be a welcome change from the whole-of-government attacks on gun owners and the firearms industry that we’ve seen from Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Merrick Garland, and Steve Dettelbach. To celebrate Trump’s win, Townhall Media is offering its best deal ever on VIP, VIP Gold, and VIP Platinum memberships. Just use the promo code POTUS47 and you can take an incredible 74% off the regular price of a membership when you sign up. You’ll get all kinds of exclusive benefits, but you’ll also be supporting our independent, pro-2A journalism as we take on the anti-gun media bias and Big Tech censorship that’s silencing the Second Amendment community. If you’re already a VIP member, thank you for your support. And if you’ve not yet signed up, there’s no better time than now!
