The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced last week that it is reviewing the Biden-era “engaged in the business” rule—an overreaching regulation that many gun owners saw as a backdoor to universal gun registration.
The rule stems from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), a gun control deal cut in 2022 by Senator John Cornyn and Democrat Senator Chris Murphy, and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The “engaged in the business” rule broadly redefined who qualifies as a firearm dealer—forcing thousands of private gun owners to register with the federal government, conduct background checks, and potentially face federal penalties simply for selling a firearm from their personal collection.
But in the state of Texas, that rule hasn’t been enforceable thanks to a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton, who secured a federal restraining order against the ATF rule last year.
“Yet again, Joe Biden is weaponizing the federal bureaucracy to rip up the Constitution and destroy our citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” said Attorney General Paxton at the time. “This is a dramatic escalation of his tyrannical abuse of authority. With today’s lawsuit, it is my great honor to defend our Constitutionally-protected freedoms from the out-of-control federal government.”
The review of this ATF rule is likely the result of President Trump’s recent executive order, which directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to initiate a top-to-bottom review of every gun control action imposed under the Biden administration.
So far, Bondi and the new ATF leadership have already repealed the “Zero Tolerance” policy targeting gun store licenses, and are currently reviewing the pistol brace ban, which is also not enforceable in the state of Texas thanks to lawsuits brought forward by gun rights organizations like Texas Gun Rights and National Association for Gun Rights.
But gun owners across the country are still waiting for action on the ATF’s “frame and receiver” rule—a regulation that makes it illegal to build your own firearm from unfinished parts, crushing the American tradition of home gunsmithing under the guise of stopping so-called “ghost guns.”
That rule was recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in a narrow decision, sparking renewed calls for legislative action.
While these reviews mark a shift in direction at the ATF, the ultimate goal for gun rights advocates remains clear: abolish the ATF and repeal the National Firearms Act (NFA).
With Republicans holding the House, Senate, and White House, many Second Amendment organizations—including Texas Gun Rights—warn that the window for real reform is closing fast.
The 2026 midterms could bring a divided Congress, and with it, another missed opportunity to roll back nearly a century of federal gun control.
