Everytown Statement on Trump Administration’s Attempt to Sabotage ATF and Limit Enforcement of Laws that Prevent Gun Violence, Trafficking

WASHINGTON - Today, following the joint ATF and Department of Justice announcement of dozens of changes to federal firearms regulations, Everytown for Gun Safety, and its grassroots arms Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, released the following statement:

"Four days after the nation watched gunfire break out at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the Trump administration's answer is to gut commonsense gun safety laws and sabotage the only federal agency dedicated to keeping guns out of criminal hands," said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. "President Trump and Director Cekada resorted to executive action for these gun lobby giveaways because they know even a compliant MAGA Congress wouldn't touch something so politically toxic. But Trump's enablers in Congress will have nowhere to hide when gun safety voters head to the polls this November - and accountability is coming."

Since taking office, the Trump Administration has worked ceaselessly to undermine popular, bipartisan gun safety laws that have helped usher in historically low rates of violent crime. The administration shuttered the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, tried to terminate more than $1 billion for school mental health funding and $800 million in public safety grants, and moved to restore gun rights to felons and domestic abusers prohibited from possessing guns.

At ATF, the Trump administration diverted special agents from gun crime investigations to immigration enforcement, contributing to a documented decline in gun trafficking cases and dealer inspections, repealed the zero-tolerance policy for rogue gun dealers who committed willful violations of federal law - then invited those who had lost their licenses to reapply - and paused the Demand Letter 2 program, a 25-year-old law enforcement tool for monitoring the dealers selling the most crime guns. The administration has also moved to reduce background checks on gun sales by expanding the use of state permits as substitutes, including permits previously disqualified because they were issued without any background check at all.

Last year's One Big Beautiful Bill, which Republicans passed on a party-line vote, weakened the National Firearms Act for the first time in nearly a century, making it easier and cheaper to purchase dangerous weapons like silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and other concealable firearms that have been used in high-profile crimes and mass shootings alike. Earlier this year, DOJ even settled a lawsuit involving "forced-reset triggers," reversing a longstanding classification that these devices - which convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons - are machine guns effectively legalizing them for the civilian market.