Here’s who can qualify for Trump’s gun rights restoration program

Published August 19, 2026 5:00am ET | Updated August 19, 2026 9:38am ET



The Trump administration unveiled this week a new process that could allow some people long barred from owning firearms to seek restoration of their federal gun rights.

Attorney General Todd Blanche finalized the Federal Firearm Rights Restoration rule on Monday, reviving a statutory process that has been effectively dormant since Congress defunded the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives application-review program in 1992.

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