DOJ Launches ‘Second Amendment Task Force’ to Guard Gun Rights

The Attorney General said the president had directed him to propose a plan of action designed “to protect the second amendment of all Americans.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the creation of a task force aimed at protecting the second amendment of law-abiding American citizens.

“For too long, constitutional amendments that can establish basic American individual rights, maintain and endure arms have been treated as second-rate rights. Any more than this has been written in Tuesday’s memorandum to all DOJ employees.

“President (Donald) Trump has made the second amendment a priority for this administration,” she said.

The Attorney General said the president had directed him to propose a plan of action designed “to protect the second amendment of all Americans.”

Bondi said the main purpose of the “Second Amendment Task Force” is to develop policies and legal strategies that “promote, protect and promote Second Amendment compliance.”

The task force, chaired by Bondi, will consist of staff members from her office and her deputy and aide office, the attorney’s office, the civil division, the Civil Rights Division, the Criminal Division, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives (ATF), and staff members from the FBI.

Additional agency personnel may be summoned to assist in the operation of the task force, if necessary.

Trump’s Presidential Order

The task force helped implement Trump’s Executive Order 14206, “Second Amendment Protection,” directed the Attorney General to consider all firearms-related actions in the Biden administration.

In a press release Wednesday, Bondi said, “The previous administration placed an undue burden on gun owners and vendors by targeting citizens who comply with laws that exercise the second amendment.”

On Monday, the ATF said it had abolished President Joe Biden’s strengthened regulatory enforcement policy. The 2021 initiative (also known as the “zero tolerance policy”) was able to set strict inspection standards for weapons dealers and revoke the license for minor administrative errors that were previously considered acceptable.

“The Department of Justice believes that the second amendment is not a second-rate right,” Bondy said in an ATF press release.

“The previous administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy unfairly targets law-abiding gun owners and created an undue burden on Americans who attempt to exercise their constitutional rights to possess weapons. Today is over,” she said.

The DOJ and ATF plan to “stabilize brace rules” and to correct boundaries for determining who is considered “engaged in the business” of selling firearms.

The stabilized brace rule attempted to reclassify a gun fitted with a stable brace (an accessory designed to help people with disabilities shoot the pistol more comfortably. This means stricter regulations. Critics argued that the rule turned millions of law-abiding gun owners into potential felonies overnight by reclassifying legally purchased pistols.

The MCK pistol brace for handguns will be on display at the intersection of the West Gun Show, which will be held on June 5th, 2021 at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP by Getty Images

The 2024 rules for handling firearms “engaged in business” expanded the definition of who is eligible to be a firearm dealer under federal law.

Kash Patel, then ATF director, was successful in the ATF on Wednesday by Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll.

The DOJ said it will work with gun rights groups, gun manufacturers and legal experts over the coming months to ensure that the policy is consistent with American constitutional rights.