Hope for Restoration of Federal Firearms Rights

Posted on by Tom Odom, Esq.

Although by federal statute there is a mechanism by which an individual who has lost his federal firearms rights may request a review to have them restored, that mechanism has been effectively unavailable for years as a limitation in the annual appropriations for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive Devices (“ATF”) has prohibited the expenditure of funds to investigate and review such requests.  That prohibition may expire at the end of the current fiscal year opening the door for individuals to have a second chance.

This week the House of Representatives approved H.R. 2578, addressing Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2016.  The June 3, 2015, roll call vote in the House may be examined here.  The text of the appropriations bill may be found here.  Title II of the bill, starting on page 23, address appropriations for the Department of Justice.  The provisions specifically addressing ATF start on page 33 and contains the now-familiar language:  “Provided, That none of the funds appropriated herein shall be available to investigate or act upon applications for relief from Federal firearms disabilities under section 925(c) of title 18, United States Code.”

Before the House passed the bill, however, it agreed to several amendments, listed here, including Amendment 302 offered by Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado.  The Buck Amendment struck the phrase “none of the” from the above-quoted text and replaced it with the word “such” so that the bill now affirmatively expresses congressional approval for ATF to use appropriated funds to investigate and act upon requests for relief from disability.

The appropriations bill will now make its way to the Senate.  You may want to contact your Senators in order to ensure this important change will be enacted into law.

UPDATE:  The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 not only excluded this language from the final bill but also restored the annual prohibition on use of funds to process applications for restoration of rights.  Here is a link to the law as enacted and the appropriations for ATF are addressed at pages 2029-60 and 2029-61.

Published by Tom Odom, Esq.

Tom was born and raised outside of Philadelphia. He attended Rutgers University as an undergraduate and, later, University of Pennsylvania School of Law where he was an Executive Editor on the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He served as a clerk to Judge Morton I. Greenberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Tom practiced law for ten years in Washington, D.C., handling matters before numerous federal administrative agencies and litigating several significant issues of federal constitutional law. He resigned his partnership for a full-time teaching position and spent the next ten years as a law professor at schools including Penn State/Dickinson School of Law, Rutgers School of Law -- Camden, University of Richmond School of Law, and Oklahoma City University School of Law. While a professor, Tom published three books on federal constitutional law and articles on various topics. Tom joined the Prince Law Firm, P.C., due to his interest in protecting constitutional rights and the firm's reputation in representing individuals in firearms related matters. He assists clients in complying with regulatory requirements and in litigating when their rights have been infringed.

8 thoughts on “Hope for Restoration of Federal Firearms Rights”

  1. I saw that particular provision and I was surprised to see the news that it had been modified. I for one think it is long overdue, especially given how the definition of who has a ‘firearms disability’ seems to have been unjustly broadened.

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  3. it is here now APRIL/2016, are there any updates as to it now, and what the outcome of trying to deny rights to all of us by whom are suppose to be serving us. are we able to now get those rights back, or what, anyone heard the latest yet? this is so much more crap, they cannot take something away like this, what they are doing is illegal.

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  4. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 not only excluded this language from the final bill but also restored the annual prohibition on use of funds to process applications for restoration of rights.

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  5. So is this bill dead in the water now or is there a chance the ATF funding will be restored in 2017? Having an all Republican government once Trump gets in office is encouraging for this type of legislation.

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  6. New legislation is not enough. It want happen until a large number of the twenty million or so people in this situation get organized and make some noise. It got shot down in the Senate so what needs to happen is a few million letters and phone calls to your Senators. There is power in numbers. So if you want to make this happen get busy writing letters, making phone calls and convincing all your friends to do the same.

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