New York Democrat Melanie D’Arrigo called it corruption Sunday after the Trump administration moved to roll back more than three dozen gun regulations — including a proposal to lift a nearly century-old ban on mailing handguns through the U.S. Postal Service — changes that could generate a windfall for GrabAGun, the online gun retailer where Donald Trump Jr. sits on the board and owns more than 300,000 shares.
“Donald Trump Jr. became an owner and advisor to a company that wants to ship guns through the mail,” D’Arrigo wrote on X. “But that’s been illegal for nearly a century. So his father just rescinded that rule to help his company. It’s not a coincidence. It’s corruption.”
The post linked to a New York Times investigation published Saturday detailing the sweeping retrenchment at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which the administration announced would scrap more than three dozen firearms regulations — including reversing Biden-era rules that had helped bring down the murder rate after pandemic highs.
GrabAGun and Trump Jr.
Donald Trump Jr. helped take GrabAGun, a Texas-based online gun retailer that markets itself as the “Amazon of guns,” public last year through a special purpose acquisition company merger that raised $119 million. He is a board member, paid consultant and holds more than 300,000 shares in the company.
If finalized, the proposed ATF rule would allow licensed dealers to ship firearms directly to in-state buyers who undergo online identity verification and a background check, along with a seven-day waiting period. Industry officials, store owners and gun control advocates told Reuters it would be among the most consequential changes to U.S. gun policy in two decades and could drive enormous growth in online gun sales — the core of GrabAGun’s business model.
Both Trump Jr. and GrabAGun said they were not aware of the proposal before it was released. GrabAGun’s CEO nonetheless touted the new policy in a May news release.
The USPS Handgun Ban
Running alongside the ATF rule change is a separate proposal by the U.S. Postal Service to lift a ban on mailing handguns that has been in place since 1927. Federal law has prohibited mailing handguns through USPS for nearly a century, with handguns required to move through commercial carriers under strict federal firearms licensee requirements, with transfers completing at licensed dealers. The proposed USPS rule would allow lawful handguns to be mailed and treat them similarly to rifles and shotguns, potentially allowing individuals to mail firearms to themselves or another person in another state for lawful activities.
Critics have drawn comparisons to the mail-order gun system that existed before the Gun Control Act of 1968, which was passed after Lee Harvey Oswald purchased the rifle used to assassinate President John F. Kennedy through a mail-order catalog.
The Broader Rollback
The ATF changes go well beyond the shipping rule. The administration has already eliminated its zero-tolerance approach toward gun dealers who repeatedly broke the law — a policy that had led to the revocation of more than 600 dealer licenses. The new framework raises the threshold for revoking a license to require evidence that a dealer knew it was violating the law, meaning the number of revocations is expected to drop “considerably,” according to the agency’s own analysis cited by the Times.
Other changes include restoring gun rights to some people with a history of mental illness, eliminating extra scrutiny of stabilizing braces — accessories used in mass shootings — and reinstating the gun show loophole, meaning the administration would no longer require background checks for gun shows and certain private sales. The agency’s own cost-benefit analysis of the mental illness rule acknowledged the public safety risk could range from minimal to “potentially mass casualty events.”
The administration is also challenging gun control laws at the state level. It has sued California over its restrictions on Glock-style handguns and Virginia over limits on semiautomatic rifle sales, both filed hours after those laws went into effect on July 2, according to the Times.
Critics and Supporters
Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said the Trump administration’s approach “takes us back 100 years” and is “really decimating ATF’s ability to regulate this industry,” per the Times. Marianna Mitchem, a former ATF official now advising Everytown for Gun Safety, warned that guns would “start to percolate back out into the community over the next couple of years” and predicted an increase in violent crime.
Gun control groups including Everytown, Brady and Giffords argued that allowing home delivery of firearms is ripe for illegal gun trafficking, mail theft and straw purchases. “Even with the most robust virtual sales and background check process, there is no way for a gun store that is selling a gun over the internet to know if the person making the purchase is funneling the firearms to others,” Giffords spokesperson Aneesa McMillan said in a statement to Reuters.
The White House said the administration’s policies reflected Trump’s commitment to ensuring Americans could exercise their Second Amendment rights, accusing the Biden administration of bypassing Congress to restrict gun rights. The ATF’s director, Rob Cekada, said the changes reflected an honest attempt to “fully and transparently inform the public” of the full range of costs and benefits, per the Times. The ATF rule is currently in a public comment period closing in early August and may not be finalized until late 2026 or early 2027 — and could still be withdrawn or changed.