April 29, 2026
NSSF Welcomes ATF Landmark Rulemaking Package
WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, was on hand at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to welcome Acting U.S. Attorney General (AG) Todd Blanche’s signing ceremony that released a landmark rulemaking package from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The release of the new rulemaking package is the result of months of NSSF working closely with the ATF and DOJ to identify and fix punitive regulations published during the Biden administration, when the ATF was used as a political weapon to force policies intended to hobble the firearm industry and infringe on Second Amendment rights. The package also addresses several inefficient and burdensome regulations that increased compliance costs for the industry but which did not aid ATF in achieving its primary mission on combatting violent crime.
The signing of the rulemaking package was held less than an hour after Robert Cekada was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan vote to serve as ATF Director. Director Cekada is the first ATF director to be confirmed after being nominated by a Republican president.
“This is what ‘promises made, promises kept’ looks like. President Donald Trump made it clear that his administration would respect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens and would end the unfair targeting of the firearm industry through a special-interest antigun policy agenda,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel, who was on hand for Acting AG Blanche’s signing ceremony. “This is more than turning the page on the weaponization of government against a lawful industry that provides the means for citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights. This is the dawning of a new era. NSSF is tremendously grateful to President Trump, Acting Attorney General Blanche and Director Cekada for their fair application of the law and true respect for Second Amendment rights.”
Acting AG Blanche signed the rulemaking package that included 34 policy changes that will significantly change how the DOJ and ATF protect Second Amendment rights and regulate the firearm industry. Those policy changes are the result of the review of policies directed by President Trump when he published his Protecting Second Amendment Rights Executive Order.
The rulemaking changes are comprised of priorities NSSF has long championed including, recissions of the ATF’s “Engaged in the Business,” bump stock and stabilizing pistol brace final rules, changes to ATF record retentions that have no law enforcement utility, providing a clearer definition of what constitutes a “willful” violation of the Gun Control Act (GCA) and an illegal straw purchase of a firearm and elimination of the requirement to notify the chief law enforcement officer for purchases of items regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA).
About NSSF
NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.
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