Opportunity For Federal Firearms Relief May Be Coming to A Close

As we previously posted, we’ve had the inside track, for the past two months, on how to currently apply for federal firearms relief – as a result of our successful Second Amendment as-applied litigation to federal prohibitors – even though the Government is currently in the notice and comment period on rulemaking to address the procedure and process to apply. And we’ve filed a number of relief applications for clients, while the Government’s requirements continue to change. And even with the evolving requirements, we’ve received feedback that our applications are “unlike anything we’ve seen,” “extremely thorough,” and “extremely difficult to deny.” Of course, that’s because of our extensive experience not merely successfully litigating in the state and federal courts, but also, our unheard of rate of success in obtaining pardons in Pennsylvania for prohibited persons.

But today, I learned that there is a push within House and Senate by Democrats and even some Republicans to prevent future relief applications from being considered. Similar to the appropriation rider that has existed in relation to ATF since 1992, some within our Government are pushing to add a virtually identical – but in relation to the Department of Justice/Attorney General – provision in the 2026 government funding bill. If successful, federal firearms relief will once again become unavailable.

Even if we’re successful in preventing the language from being enacted, the Government is anticipating over a million applications in the first year! As a result, DOJ does not believe that the applications submitted in the first year will be adjudicated during the current Administration! That means, we could see a new administration in ’29 that refuses to process pending or newly submitted applications.

This is why it is imperative, if you want relief from a federal prohibitor, that you contact us today to discuss how we can get your application submitted, before any action is taken to foreclose your opportunity.

Firearms Industry Consulting Group® (FICG®) is a registered trademark and division of Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C., with rights and permissions granted to Prince Law Offices, P.C. to use in this article.