The Justice Department will no longer consider appeals from people banned from owning guns

The Justice Department has stopped reviewing applications from people who want to regain their right to own firearms after a ban. This means individuals who lost their gun rights due to certain laws no longer have a path to appeal that decision through the federal government.

For decades, people banned from owning firearms could apply to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to have their rights restored. This process was often slow and rarely successful, but it existed. Now, that path is gone, leaving no federal avenue for appeal.