GOP Senators Put Forward Bill to Cut ATF Regulations on Background Checks

Republican elected officials have recently introduced legislation to roll back ATF regulations on background checks.

Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) were several of the Republican elected officials who put forward legislation on March 6, 2025 to roll back the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regulatory hurdles on background checks.

Sen. Risch said the following about his bill:

Law-abiding gun owners wrongfully denied their Second Amendment rights should be able to appeal their case through an efficient, transparent process. My ATF Transparency Act is simple. It codifies the current appeals process, holds the ATF to a higher standard, and gives Idaho’s lawful gun owners a faster, fairer process for firearm applications.”

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), who helped Risch introduce the legislation, made the case for The ATF Transparency Act and why gun owners should get behind this bill:

“As a lifelong gun owner and supporter of the Second Amendment, I came to the Senate with the mission of protecting this sacred Constitutional right of all Kansans. The ATF Transparency Act furthers this mission by requiring the ATF to develop an appeals process to protect Americans’ background checks from being wrongfully denied. This is a commonsense step forward to safeguard the Second Amendment, and I am proud to stand alongside my colleagues in support.”

Daines chimed in favor of this bill as well, proclaiming, “The Second Amendment is an integral part of our Montana way of life, and law-abiding citizens should not have to worry about their constitutional rights being denied because of a processing error. This legislation will create a quick and transparent appeals process for Montanans who have been wrongfully flagged by the ATF, and I’ll continue to stand up for our right to keep and bear arms.”

The bill’s aim is to guarantee that lawful gun owners experience a fair and efficient application process when exercising their Second Amendment rights. Some of the bill’s key provisions include:

Appeals Process: Codifies an appeals process to protect law-abiding Americans from wrongful denials of background checks.
Processing Timeline: Mandates the ATF to process applications within 3 days, with automatic approval if not completed within this timeframe.
Reporting Requirements: Requires the Government Accountability Office and Department of Justice to report on unresolved background checks and recommend ways to improve the process.
The ATF Transparency Act has received support from pro-gun organizations such as Gun Owners of America. Director of Federal Affairs at GOA, positively commented on the legislation:

Gun Owners of America is proud to endorse Sen. Risch’s legislation to eliminate ATF’s bureaucratic loopholes in the already unconstitutional National Firearms Act. ATF has deceived Congress and the American public with inaccurate NFA approval estimates for far too long. There is no reason that a NFA approval time should take longer than a normal background check, especially since ATF has shown they are able to rapidly approve forms after Congress instructed them to. A Right Delayed is a Right Denied.”

GOA views this legislation as an important step towards addressing issues with the ATF’s handling of firearm applications and background checks. They believe it will help eliminate bureaucratic red tape and improve the efficiency of the process for law-abiding gun owners to acquire firearms and accessories in a timely manner. GOA has pointed out that the ATF has previously demonstrated the ability to approve forms after Congress has directed them to do so.

It stands to reason that the ATF can apply background checks in a transparent and timely manner to firearms and accessories regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA). However, due to the activist role the ATF took under former President Joe Biden’s watch, it has made sure to delay the background check process for countless firearms and accessory transactions.

The ATF Transparency Act is just one of several proposals introduced by Republicans to roll back the numerous transgressions the Biden regime launched against the Second Amendment.

A companion bill of the ATF Transparency Act was introduced by Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-ID) on Jan. 22, 2025.

José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas.