A proposed federal rule that would allow Americans to have firearms shipped directly to their homes could deliver a significant financial windfall to Donald Trump Jr., who holds a stake in one of the nation’s leading online gun retailers — raising conflict-of-interest questions even as administration officials insist the president’s son played no role in crafting the policy.
The proposal, put forward by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, would represent one of the most consequential shifts in U.S. gun policy in roughly two decades. If finalized, it would allow licensed dealers to ship firearms directly to in-state buyers who complete an online identity verification and background check, paired with a seven-day waiting period following notification to local law enforcement. Under current law, online gun buyers are required to pick up their purchases at physical stores and submit to in-person background checks, unless they hold a qualifying permit.
Trump Jr.’s Stake in GrabAGun
At the center of the conflict-of-interest concerns is GrabAGun, a Texas-based online firearms retailer that brands itself as the “Amazon of guns.” Trump Jr. became the public face of the company last year when it went public through a special purpose acquisition company merger that netted the firm $119 million. That SPAC was brought by 1789 Capital, where Trump Jr. serves as a partner. He currently holds more than 300,000 shares in the company — worth more than $700,000, down sharply from a valuation exceeding $5 million last year. Shares of GrabAGun, which trades under the ticker PEW, have fallen roughly 85 percent over the past year.
GrabAGun CEO Marc Nemati told Reuters that neither he nor Trump Jr. had advance knowledge of the ATF proposal, and that the company is still evaluating the potential impact of the rule change on its $100 million in annual revenue. Nemati was nonetheless bullish in a company news release, stating that “GrabAGun is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this potential opportunity.”
Administration Denies Involvement
A spokesperson for Trump Jr., Andrew Surabian, issued a statement distancing the president’s son from any role in the policy. “Don is a lifelong businessman and vocal advocate of our Second Amendment rights,” Surabian said. “He does not interface with the Federal Government as part of his role with any company that he invests in or advises and had zero involvement in this particular decision.”
ATF chief counsel Robert Leider, who said he oversaw the team effort to draft the proposed rule, told Reuters he was unaware of Trump Jr.’s connection to GrabAGun until the news organization asked him about it, and that the president’s son had no influence on the rule’s development. Leider declined to say whether the White House played any role in the proposal. The White House said it had no record or knowledge of any “interaction with the President’s son on any of these topics.” The proposed rule is one of 34 deregulatory measures put forward by the ATF this spring in response to a February 2025 presidential executive order aimed at expanding gun access.
A Massive Potential Market
The ATF projects that approximately half of all gun buyers — nearly 3.3 million people annually — would eventually make use of the home-delivery method should the rule take effect. Some industry leaders believe actual adoption could be far higher, citing the broader convenience and growth of online commerce. Leider framed the proposed change as an effort to bring the gun industry in line with the modern economy, noting that the agency estimates it would save consumers roughly $103.7 million each year in travel and processing time.
Trump Jr. himself made the consumer convenience argument last year while promoting GrabAGun ahead of its public listing, arguing that young people and women who might be reluctant to visit a physical gun store would find the company’s online platform more accessible. “People buy everything online,” Trump Jr. told Fox Business last summer.
Gun Control Advocates and Store Owners Sound Alarm
The proposal has drawn sharp opposition from gun-control organizations and small gun shop owners alike. Major advocacy groups including Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady, and Giffords argue that shipping firearms directly to buyers’ homes creates significant vulnerabilities to illegal gun trafficking, mail theft, and straw purchases — transactions in which a legal buyer acquires a firearm on behalf of someone prohibited from owning one.
“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.
Marianna Mitchem, a senior firearms industry advisor at Everytown who spent more than 20 years at the ATF — including approximately four years as the agency’s industry liaison — said she never encountered industry requests for such a policy during her time there, and that physical gun shops have historically served a critical role in vetting buyers. “ATF always says the gun store is the first line of defense in gun safety,” Mitchem said. “But now they are flipping it.”
Small Dealers Fear Financial and Safety Fallout
For brick-and-mortar gun retailers — particularly smaller, rural operations — the proposed rule carries both safety and economic concerns. Many small dealers depend heavily on “transfer fees,” which can run approximately $30 per weapon, charged to process background checks for online purchases that currently require in-store pickup. Those transactions also generate foot traffic that drives sales of ammunition and accessories.
Justin Anderson, director of online sales at Hyatt Guns — a North Carolina retailer and one of the country’s largest gun dealers — said physical shops serve as the “last line of defense” against dangerous individuals obtaining weapons. Anderson said Hyatt would likely adopt home delivery if the rule is finalized, but that safety concerns give him pause.
Chrystal Santos, who manages operations at Bow & Barrel Sportsmen Center in Missouri, submitted a public comment opposing the rule, arguing that trained staff at physical stores can detect straw purchases through behavioral cues that no online verification system can replicate. “It opens a whole can of worms,” Santos said. “Places like GrabAGun and others are the problem, they make it harder for shops like us.”
ATF Defends the Proposal
Leider defended the rule against its critics, arguing that the proposed online verification system would in practice be more secure than traditional retail transactions. “The people who are concerned about this being susceptible to straw purchases have an idealized view of what an in-store purchase is,” Leider said, contending that some physical gun shops function as “little more than a paperwork conduit.”
The proposed rule is currently in a public comment period set to close in early August. It may not be finalized until late 2026 or early 2027, and could still be withdrawn or modified before taking effect. The proposal also coincides with a separate initiative by the U.S. Postal Service to lift a century-old ban on mailing handguns — a combination that gun-control advocates say would fundamentally reshape the landscape of American firearms commerce.