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BELLEVUE, Wash. —— The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) announced support for the proposed Department of Justice rights restoration rule submitted today and is encouraged to see a process for firearms rights restoration begin to materialize.
Since 1968, federal law provided a pathway for federal firearms rights restoration, which up until 1993, ATF regularly granted. Unfortunately, in 1992, Congress passed the first of many appropriation riders that prohibited the use of any money appropriated to ATF for use in conducting federal firearms relief determinations. The proposed rulemaking, combined with the Attorney General’s interim rule rescinding the delegation of authority to ATF to conduct these determinations, finally provides a process for many eligible nonviolent offenders to have their rights restored.
The Department of Justice estimates that one million applicants are expected to take advantage of this new pathway back to the Second Amendment in the first year.
“Having litigated as-applied challenges for a number of disenfranchised individuals, it’s good to see that this proposed rule provides a pathway to restore their rights,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “For years, the only mechanisms available for relief from a federal firearms disability were the all but impossible pardon, seemingly illusory expungement that did not satisfy federal requirements, or an expensive and uncertain route of litigation. The reestablishment of a federal firearms relief determination program will enable millions of Americans to regain their ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
As stated in the proposed rule, “This rulemaking reflects the Department's commitment to the Second Amendment as an indispensable safeguard of security and liberty and a policy decision that the Department must find a way to both advance public safety and ensure that the rights of the people enshrined in the Constitution are not infringed.”
"This proposed rule to grant relief to certain individuals convicted of non-violet crimes is long overdue,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The Second Amendment Foundation has been fighting for decades in courts to restore rights to people who are no threat to society."
For more information visit SAF.org.
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
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Matt Coffey
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