DOJ announces formation of 2nd Amendment Task Force

Attorney General Pamela Bondi on April 9 announced the creation of a 2nd Amendment Task Force at the Department of Justice.

“The prior administration placed an undue burden on gun owners and vendors by targeting law-abiding citizens exercising their 2nd Amendment rights," she said in the announcement posted on the DOJ's website. "The Department of Justice’s new 2nd Amendment Task Force will combine department-wide policy and litigation resources to advance President Trump’s pro-gun agenda and protect gun owners from overreach.”

Related story: 60 days in, how is AG Pam Bondi doing on 2A?

This follows the DOJ and ATF’s April 7 repeal of the Enhanced Regulatory Enforcement Policy and the review of final rule 2021R-08F, related to stabilizing braces, and final rule 2022R-17F, related to the definition of “engaging in the business” of firearms dealing.

The full April 8 memo establishing the task force reads as follows:

For too long, the Second Amendment, which establishes the fundamental individual right ofAmericans to keep and bear arms, has been treated as a second-class right. No more. It is the policy of this Department of Justice to use its full might to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

President Trump has made protecting the Second Amendment rights a priority for this administration. As he explained, "[t]he Second Amendment is an indispensable safeguard of security and liberty," because it "is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans." Executive Order 14206 § 1 (Protecting Second Amendment Rights). To that end, President Trump has directed me to propose a plan of action designed "to protect the Second Amendment rights of all Americans." Id. § 2(a).

As one element of a comprehensive plan of action that I am proposing to the President, I am hereby creating a Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force. This task force will continue the Department's ongoing work to implement Executive Order 14206 and protect the fundamental right secured by the Second Amendment. The Task Force is principally charged with developing and executing strategies to use litigation and policy to advance, protect, and promote compliance with the Second Amendment.

I will serve as the Chair of the Task Force and the Associate Attorney General will serve as the Vice Chair. The Task Force will be further composed of representatives from my personal staff, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the Office of the Associate Attorney General, the Office of the Solicitor General, the Civil Division, the Civil Rights Division, the Criminal Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of lnvestigation, and any other components or representatives that I may from time to time designate to assist in the Task Force's labors.