DOJ launches Second Amendment Task Force amid federal rollback of gun control measures

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has unveiled a new Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force, signaling a dramatic pivot in federal policy under President Donald Trump’s administration to combat what officials describe as an era of regulatory overreach affecting law-abiding gun owners. Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced the initiative on Wednesday, declaring that the Second Amendment would no longer be treated as a “second-class right” and will instead be defended aggressively through litigation and policy reforms. The move follows Trump’s Feb. 7 executive order demanding a full review of Biden-era firearms regulations deemed overly burdensome to constitutional rights.

The Second Amendment Task Force, chaired by Bondi, will bring together representatives from the DOJ’s Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI. This interagency body is tasked with dismantling rules implemented between 2021 and 2025 that the DOJ asserts violated Second Amendment protections. Key early actions include repealing former President Joe Biden’s “Zero Tolerance Policy,” a 2021 initiative critics argued punished firearms dealers for minor compliance issues, and re-evaluating the controversial “stabilizing brace rule” that threatened to recategorize pistols with certain accessories as short-barreled rifles.

“The Department of Justice is fully mobilized to treat the Second Amendment as it is intended — a first-class right,” Bondi said in a memo to staff. “The prior administration’s policies unfairly targeted lawful gun owners and vendors, eroding public trust in the regulatory process.”

The task force’s immediate focus includes dismantling the stabilizing brace rule, which alarmed gun rights advocates by retroactively reclassifying pistols equipped with ergonomic stabilizers as short-barreled rifles—subjecting millions of owners to potential felony charges overnight. The DOJ also targeted Biden’s “engaged in the business” regulation, which expanded scrutiny of non-commercial firearm sellers, a move critics argued blurred the line between private hobbyists and dealers.

ATF Acting Director Daniel P. Driscoll, overseeing the agency for the first time, called the changes “pivotal to restoring clarity and fairness” in federal gun laws. He emphasized the repeal of the Zero Tolerance Policy, which had led to the revocation of firearms dealer licenses over minor paperwork errors.

Gun rights groups swiftly praised the initiative as a historic reversal of federal anti-gun policies. Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), described AG Bondi’s task force as a “bold step” signaling an end to years of regulatory hostility toward gun owners. “It looks like gloves-off time has arrived,” Gottlieb said. “This task force treats gun owners as allies, not antagonists.”

The Rocky Mountain Gun Owners advocacy group echoed this sentiment, calling the move a “triumph for constitutional fidelity.”...

The DOJ’s Second Amendment Task Force marks a significant escalation in the federal government’s defense of gun rights, positioning the nation’s capital directly against prior regulatory frameworks. As states and federal agencies brace for shifting enforcement priorities, the task force’s long-term impact will hinge on its ability to reconcile constitutional principles with public safety concerns — a delicate balance in a politically polarized era. For now, gun rights advocates see this as a defining moment in reclaiming what they argue is an endangered First Amendment-era right.