Justice Department sets standards to restore federal gun rights

The Justice Department published a final rule Aug. 20 establishing application standards for people seeking relief from federal firearm restrictions under the Gun Control Act of 1968. The program had been dormant for about 34 years because of congressional funding restrictions that prevented applications from being processed.

The department plans a phased rollout beginning Sept. 26, 2026, with an invited applicant pool. It will accept 5,000 applications from the general public beginning Nov. 4, followed by 500 applications starting Jan. 4, 2027. The rule estimates about 330,000 applications could be submitted each year.

The final rule allows affidavits when applicants cannot obtain required records and limits future revocations to cases involving fraud. It also adds a requirement to disclose overseas arrests and prosecutions and increases the proposed application fee by 50 percent, according to the material.

Read the full story at nraila.org.