by Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder
June 20, 2025

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s decision to restore 10 convicts’ ability to legally purchase firearms and explosives violated the law, according to a letter six high-ranking congressional Democrats released Friday.

The Justice Department publication of an interim final rule moving the authority to restore some convicts’ gun rights from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to the attorney general also violated the separation of powers and a decades-old provision in the department’s annual funding bill, according to the 12-page letter.

The Democrats wrote that while Congress did delegate the authority to “oversee restoration of federal firearm privileges applications” to the ATF several decades ago, lawmakers have included language in nearly every government funding bill since 1993 barring the ATF from spending any money to process those applications.

The prohibition followed then-President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, trying to move the authority from the ATF to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Given the pervasiveness of gun violence in our nation, this Administration should not be circumventing Congress’ authority to prioritize restoring firearm privileges to individuals convicted of serious or violent crimes,” the Democrats wrote.

The letter was signed by House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.; Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray, D-Wash.; House Judiciary ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md.; Senate Judiciary ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; House Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee ranking member Grace Meng, D-N.Y.; and Senate Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee ranking member Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from States Newsroom.

Mel Gibson case

The DOJ under President Donald Trump has so far restored 10 individuals’ ability to legally purchase firearms, including the actor Mel Gibson, who “pleaded no contest to a charge of domestic violence” in 2011, according to Reuters.

Federal law bars several types of people from legally buying firearms, including anyone sentenced to more than one year in prison, which typically coincides with felonies, and those who commit domestic violence.

The six Democrats wrote that the “intersection between firearms and domestic violence remains a key concern, demonstrating the need to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.

“Research has shown that the presence of firearms significantly increases the risk of death or serious injury for victims of domestic or dating violence. The Supreme Court has recognized that the danger of a domestic abuser with a gun serves as a limitation on the Second Amendment.” 

The Democrats wrote that for decades Congress has prevented the ATF from restoring prohibited people’s ability to legally purchase firearms. The annual DOJ appropriations bill also bars moving the ability to approve those applications away from ATF to any other federal agency. 

“The concerns that originally led to these provisions — recidivist crime, limited investigative resources, and difficulty in assessing applicants — remain unchanged,” they wrote. “Congress made an explicit policy choice to prioritize investigating crime, rather than to waste funds on evaluating whether to restore firearm rights to previously convicted felons.”

Study cited

The letter says a study from the Violence Policy Center that looked at restorations during the late 1980s is one of many reasons Congress prohibited the ATF from restoring some felons’ ability to legally purchase firearms.

The study, which reviewed 100 ATF case files obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, showed the federal government had restored the ability of “terrorists, murderers, rapists, drug dealers, gun traffickers, and child molesters” to legally purchase firearms and explosives.

“The FOIA-obtained records also showed that of those granted relief between 1985 and 1989, 47 individuals were later re-arrested for serious offenses such as attempted murder, first-degree sexual assault, kidnapping, child molestation, illegal possession of a machine gun, trafficking in cocaine, LSD, and PCP, and illegal firearms possession or carrying,” they wrote.

The letter ends with Democrats calling on the DOJ to withdraw the interim final rule and “vacate the wrongfully granted restoration of federal firearms privileges to the 10 individuals.”

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.

The post Trump administration move to restore gun rights to some convicts protested by Democrats appeared first on georgiarecorder.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

This article reflects a Center-Left perspective by highlighting concerns raised by Democratic lawmakers regarding the Trump administration’s policy on restoring gun rights to certain convicted individuals. The framing emphasizes legal and safety risks, particularly related to domestic violence and recidivism, aligning with a viewpoint that favors stricter gun control measures. While the article reports statements and evidence from Democrats, it refrains from overt partisan language or broad ideological attacks, focusing instead on legislative and public safety arguments. This results in a critique that leans left-of-center without being overtly partisan or ideological.

SUMMARY: The summer solstice marks the Northern Hemisphere’s longest day and the start of astronomical summer, occurring between June 20-22. Conversely, the Southern Hemisphere experiences its shortest day and the onset of winter. The term “solstice” means “sun pause,” as the sun reaches its highest arc before days gradually shorten. Solstices happen because the Earth’s axis tilts toward or away from the sun, causing extreme day-night length differences. Equinoxes, occurring in March and September, bring nearly equal day and night worldwide. Astronomical seasons depend on Earth’s orbit, while meteorological seasons are based on weather and temperature cycles.

Read the full article

The post Lots of sunshine as the summer solstice arrives appeared first on www.wsav.com

by Jay Bookman, Georgia Recorder
June 20, 2025

It’s easy to get discouraged or cynical about the state of American political life. Our reservoirs of civic trust have been drained dry. We’ve lost faith in each other, respect for each other, and too often those seeking popularity and power do so by appealing to the worst in us rather than the best. Too often, they have succeeded. 

We’ve allowed compromise – the essential bedrock of any democracy – to become discredited as a bad thing, as a sign of weakness in an era when, for many, dominance is the preferred outcome.  Our system of government was designed to frustrate such dominance, but at the moment its ability to perform that mission seems questionable. 

As a result, the possibility of violence lays like a shroud upon the land.

But last weekend, for the first time in a while, I felt faith refreshed. In Atlanta, Savannah, Marietta, Athens, Macon, Columbus and other Georgia cities, large and small, tens of thousands of people turned out in protest against the excesses of their government, joining millions of their fellow Americans in protest all around the country, in big cities, country towns and suburbs.

Anger and fear will find expression, if not in one outlet then in another. The organizers of the massive “No Kings” protests provided an outlet that was peaceful and purposeful. They gave a voice, a stage, for citizens who are appalled by the cruelty, illegality and corruption of our political institutions, but who until now felt helpless to take action. What they achieved over the weekend called upon the best of America, in the nonviolent tradition championed by the best of Atlanta, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis.

Good trouble, and I loved to see it.

The “No Kings” organizers and those millions who heeded their call did not trample the Constitution or pay it hypocritical lip service. To the contrary, they deployed it. Freedom of speech, the freedom to assemble, the freedom to petition government for redress of grievances, all are rights guaranteed us by the Constitution. The exercise of those rights, in turn, are essential to ensuring that the Constitution survives, that these rights are retained for those who come after us.

From what I can tell, none of the thousands of “No Kings” protests last weekend resulted in violence by protesters, which was critical to their success. The sporadic violence that did occur came from those who were intent on trying to disrupt the mass protest, probably because they feared what it might accomplish.

Of course, neither the protests nor the protesters have actual power to enact or force change. Those who marched hold no office; they have no vote in Congress. They control no divisions of troops and cannot make or enforce laws. But what they can do, what they have begun to do, is to demonstrate to those who do hold power that the people are watching them, that the people have the courage to act when supposed leaders quake and quail.

In his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963, Dr. King warned his followers that however valid their demands might be, their struggle must be conducted “on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”

“We cannot walk alone,” he said. “And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.”

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.

The post Bookman: Massive turnout for ‘No Kings’ protests in Georgia shows people’s courage to act appeared first on georgiarecorder.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning

This content reflects a left-leaning political bias, as it highlights peaceful protest against government excesses and corruption and frames civic activism in the tradition of progressive civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis. It expresses concern over political polarization and civic breakdown while supporting protest as a nonviolent means to demand accountability from those in power. The language is sympathetic to grassroots activism and critical of dominant power structures, which aligns with left-leaning perspectives focused on social justice and reform.