The Trump administration is working to allow some convicted felons in the U.S. to have their gun rights restored if it can convince Congress that the move is a constitutional corrective.

The U.S. Department of Justice is looking to resurrect an existing statute (18 U.S.C. Section 925(c)), effectively defunded by Congress in 1992, that would allow felons to apply for restoration of their right to bear arms, according to an article by Bryan Driscoll in Handzlik Law.

Driscoll noted the broad scope of the administration’s effort. “Ultimately, the DOJ’s move to revive [the law] is more than an administrative reopening; it’s a live test of how the legal system reconciles the right to bear arms with the duty to protect the public,” wrote Driscoll.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi also framed the proposal as a constitutional issue, arguing that restoration of gun rights is on the same level as the right to vote, to free speech, and to the free choice of religion. She said that Congress’ defunding of the application process in 1992 permanently disqualified individuals from firearm ownership without evaluating whether they posed an actual danger to society.

Congress made the law dormant in 1992 by barring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives from using funds to process nonviolent felons’ applications to reinstate gun rights. Reasons for defunding the law included concerns about its costliness and resulting administrative burdens, as well as the perceived risk of placing firearms in the hands of dangerous people.

Supporters of the administration’s move to revive the law, like Gun Owners of America, see it as an overdue recalibration of federal policy, asserting that any rehabilitated non-violent felon should have a chance to own a firearm.

“For critics, the process is both a public safety risk and a constitutional overreach in the other direction,” wrote Driscoll. Gun control advocates, like Brady and Everytown for Gun Safety, see the initiative as a reckless move, warning it will put weapons in dangerous hands and undermine decades of bipartisan consensus preventing gun ownership by convicted criminals. Democratic lawmakers see it as the current administration sidestepping Congress with executive actions rather than pursuing bipartisan legislation.

The administration’s plan is that the Office of the Pardon Attorney will process applications from ex-felons. DOJ’s FY 2026 budget includes $448,000 to develop infrastructure to evaluate and decide requests. The OPA will be working with the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Service integrating records from multiple agencies to a web-based application portal to avoid excessive manual reviews.

In deciding eligibility for reinstatement of gun rights, officials will consider the nature of an applicant’s original offense, post-conviction conduct, and evidence of rehabilitation. The rules will automatically exclude some groups of “high-risk” applicants from the process, including registered sex offenders and persons unlawfully present in the United States.

Those who qualify for gun rights reinstatement via the OPA review process would still be subject to any restrictions imposed by state or local laws.