The Trump Justice Department’s position in a legal fight over Biden-era “ghost gun” regulations is the latest instance of the Trump administration breaking with gun rights groups on Second Amendment issues.The administration is evaluating whether to appeal two recent Texas decisions favoring gun-rights groups: one striking down a Biden-era “ghost gun” regulation, and another blocking federal registration and approval requirements for some suppressors and other weapons.On most Second Amendment issues, the Trump administration has hewed closely to the positions of gun rights groups. But on a handful of niche issues dating back to the first Trump presidency, the administration has taken public stances or held private discussions that have placed it opposite groups such as the National Rifle Association.
What the Trump administration will do next in response to the pair of Texas decisions has some gun rights advocates on edge.Aidan Johnston, Gun Owners of America’s director of federal affairs, worries resistant bureaucrats could squander a rare opportunity while gun rights advocates have momentum by backing an appeal of a ruling that activists are otherwise celebrating.“I think this is the debate going on in the administration right now,” Johnston said of discussions over ATF policy and whether the Trump administration will appeal the suppressor ruling. Some officials “would have you believe it’s all in good faith, but there’s certainly an element of bureaucrats backing an appeal that wants us to lose.”John Commerford, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, says he trusts senior political officials to make the right decision.The disagreement is not over Trump’s broader record. Advocates consider him among the most pro-Second Amendment presidents of the modern era. His administration has sued Virginia over its semiautomatic weapons ban, challenged California’s Glock restrictions, and begun unwinding dozens of Biden-era firearm regulations.But the relationship has not gotten off without a hitch.Past breaks on gun policy complicate Trump’s trust meter
