The Trump administration implemented a comprehensive gun deregulation agenda: gutting ATF enforcement capacity, failing to replace the bump stock ban, halting background check expansion, and signaling opposition to red flag laws.
The ATF lost enforcement staff through DOGE cuts and hiring freezes. The administration targeted the agency with plans to cut jobs and ease gun restrictions, weakening the primary federal agency responsible for firearms enforcement.
The Supreme Court struck down Trump's first-term bump stock ban in June 2024 in Garland v. Cargill. Bump stocks allow semi-automatic rifles to fire at rates approaching automatic weapons. The 2017 Las Vegas massacre — 60 killed, 413 wounded — was carried out with bump-stock-equipped rifles. No replacement legislation or regulation was pursued.
The Supreme Court separately upheld the ghost gun rule 7-2 in March 2025, requiring serial numbers on privately manufactured firearms. However, NPR reported that ghost guns 'may make a comeback' as the Trump administration explores weakening enforcement despite the ruling. Law enforcement had recovered over 45,000 ghost guns at crime scenes between 2016-2021, a 1,000% increase.
The administration also halted ATF's enhanced background check rule for gun shows and online sales, withdrew proposed rules on stabilizing braces (which convert pistols into short-barreled rifles), and signaled opposition to red flag laws. Gun violence kills approximately 45,000 Americans per year — more than car accidents. The U.S. has more guns than people: 400 million firearms for 330 million residents.