ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL LEADS COALITION OPPOSING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S ROLLBACK OF COMMONSENSE FIREARMS REGULATIONS

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL LEADS COALITION OPPOSING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S ROLLBACK OF COMMONSENSE FIREARMS REGULATIONS

August 10, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul has led a coalition of 23 attorneys general warning that the Trump administration's rollback of commonsense firearms regulations will endanger their communities, many of which - like Chicago - have seen levels of gun violence drop dramatically in recent years.

In May, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced the "most comprehensive regulatory reform package in the history of ATF," splitting its broad deregulatory effort into 34 different rule-making notices. As Raoul and the coalition show in their comment letters responding to this barrage, the so-called "reform package" unlawfully abdicates ATF's responsibility to implement federal laws passed to keep the public safe. Raoul and the coalition argue that, in advancing these changes, the ATF is unlawfully walking away from its core duty to protect the public and faithfully carry out the laws Congress enacted. Although the ATF's notices say that none of these rules were drafted directly or indirectly by any member of the gun industry, its promotional materials and the gun industry associations themselves say otherwise, announcing it as an effort in "partnership with the gun industry," even as the industry stands to profit from these changes at the expense of public safety.

"With these proposals, the Trump administration is attempting to abandon a plethora of federal firearm safety rules, many of which were bipartisan, have been in effect for decades and have been proven to reduce gun violence," Raoul said. "I am joining my fellow attorneys general to alert the public to the seriousness of this concerted and dangerous effort to significantly weaken our public safety laws, which would only lead to increased gun violence across the nation while hampering law enforcement efforts to trace crime guns."

In a series of comment letters submitted between July 6 and August 6, Raoul and the multistate coalition outline the damage to public safety that will ensue if these massive deregulatory changes take effect, and the coalition urges the ATF to abandon or revise many of these proposals.

As detailed in the letters, the harmful proposals by the ATF would undo years of bipartisan progress aimed at reducing gun violence. To one degree or another, the proposals violate various federal laws, exceed the ATF's authority, violate congressional intent and are contrary to past Supreme Court rulings. Many are offered without evidence or explanation, without required consultations with the states, and were subject to undue and undisclosed industry influence.

If enacted, the proposed rules would:

• Weaken the Brady Act background check process. The bipartisan Brady Act of 1993, enacted after the attempted assassination of President Reagan, imposed strict background checks. The ATF's unlawful proposal to exempt purchases by individuals with certain state-issued permits from background checks would undermine that system, increasing the risk of dangerous felons and other prohibited individuals unlawfully obtaining firearms and illegal weapons trafficking between states.

• Reopen dangerous loopholes by undermining licensing for gun dealers. This proposal would unlawfully reopen loopholes on who will be able to operate without a federal firearms license (FFL), allowing more people to sell guns without conducting background checks or keeping sale records. The proposal violates the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

• Erode identity checks for gun buyers who do not shop in person. This unlawful proposal would flood the country with millions of guns that could be purchased online, including by children, gun traffickers and those otherwise at risk of hurting themselves or others. Contrary to a Supreme Court ruling, the proposal reinterprets the historic Gun Control Act of 1968 by including a wish list from the firearms industry that would allow remote identify verification, which is not authorized by Congress.

• Dismantle the protections imbedded into the firearms dealer sale process by the firearms transaction record that is relied on by law enforcement. Form 4473 is the record a licensed dealer must complete for every firearm sale. It shepherds the firearm transaction and background check process, and it is a critical tool for law enforcement. The ATF seeks to completely dismantle the way this process currently works by no longer requiring a dealer and buyer to work through Form 4473 together, weakening the imbedded protections currently offered. It also would allow non-government-issued documents as proof of residence and double the window during which a background check remains valid, from 30 days to two months. Raoul led the states in opposing these changes because they weaken the security of lawful gun sales, making it much easier for straw buyers to obtain firearms for prohibited people, and undermining the reliable records that law enforcement depends on.

• Dilute the ban on straw purchasing. A "straw purchase" occurs when someone buys a gun on behalf of another person who is legally barred from buying one themselves - for example, buying a firearm for an individual convicted of a felony. The ATF wants to exempt certain purchases from being treated as illegal straw purchases. Raoul and the coalition warn this would create a dangerous loophole allowing prohibited individuals to obtain firearms through middlemen. The states argue the proposal defies U.S. Supreme Court precedent and federal law, exceeds the ATF's legal authority, and is arbitrary and capricious.

• Undermine the ability to hold bad-actor gun dealers accountable. Federal law allows the ATF to revoke the license of a gun dealer who "willfully" violates the law. The ATF now wants to raise the bar for what counts as a "willful" violation, making it far harder to strip dangerous dealers of their licenses. The states argue this change contradicts decades of settled law and would gut the federal licensing system that keeps guns out of the wrong hands.

• Make it easier to import military-style weapons and parts. Through two separate proposals, the ATF wants to make it easier to import guns and gun parts into the country. One would permit the import of "non-sporting" - that is, military-style - weapon parts, such as barrels, frames and receivers from AK-47s and similar firearms, as long as the part could theoretically be used in some sporting weapon. The other would allow companies to bring these weapons into special trade zones for virtually any purpose. Raoul and the coalition argue both proposals violate the plain text of federal import laws and were adopted without consideration of public safety consequences.

• Create dangerous confusion over stabilizing braces. Stabilizing braces can be used to convert pistols into more lethal, shoulder-fired weapons. The ATF wants to rescind an existing rule that clarified how these devices are regulated, without creating any replacement. Raoul led the states in arguing that leaving a regulatory vacuum is reckless because the ATF failed to weigh the public safety costs and the enforcement confusion that will result.

• Allow banned gun accessories to cross state lines. Federal law protects the transport of firearms and ammunition across state lines during travel. The ATF wants to add vague new language covering all "reasonably necessary activities incidental to interstate travel." Raoul and the coalition object because the proposal would improperly expand the law to permit banned accessories, like large-capacity magazines and rapid-fire modification devices, to be transported through states that prohibit them.

• Undermine firearm tracing through form changes. The ATF seeks to change how "sex" is recorded on every ATF form. Raoul led the states in arguing this proposal harms public safety by impeding law enforcement's ability to trace firearms and conflicts with state law and policy. Ironically, the proposed change may interfere with an individual's right to lawfully purchase firearms and exercise their Second Amendment right. The proposal will also create confusion and violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

• Destroy records needed to solve crimes and prosecute criminals. Currently, records tracking the chain of custody and sale of firearms must be kept indefinitely. The ATF wants to destroy records the agency currently holds and allow the destruction of those held by dealers after just 20 or 30 years. The ATF's own statistics show those older records are used routinely to trace crime guns. Raoul and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell led the states in warning this would result in the loss of records essential to tracing crime guns and prosecuting criminals, directly harming public safety and law enforcement investigations and prosecutions.

• Allow individuals with severe mental illness to purchase firearms. The ATF seeks to redefine mental health terms first used in the Gun Control Act, which were later updated by the ATF in 1997 and strengthened further by Congress in 2007 and 2018. Federal law prohibits firearm possession by people who have been "adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution." The ATF wants to sharply narrow this category and even admits in its own comments that some of the proposed changes would jeopardize the public. The ATF's analysis states: "This risk may be minimal, or may be considerably greater (up to and including potential mass casualty events)."

• End posted warnings about the dangers of handguns to children. Gun dealers are required to post written notices about the Youth Handgun Safety Act. These notices warn buyers about the dangers handguns pose to young people and make clear that transferring a handgun to someone under 18 is generally illegal. The states argue the ATF wrongly claims it lacks authority to require these notices, ignores their proven benefits and is inviting an increase in gun violence.

In addition, Raoul and the attorneys general submitted a comment letter on July 6 opposing five proposed ATF rule changes to regulations under the National Firearms Act (NFA), a 1934 law that tightly controls machine guns, silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns. Illinois also led the coalition in the submission of another comment letter opposing a set of changes to Form 4473 that will make it easier for straw purchasers to buy weapons and will make it difficult for law enforcement to trace crime guns and prosecute crimes.

The multistate coalition was led by Attorney General Raoul, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington joined all or most of the letters.