WASHINGTON — The Justice Department moved Wednesday to roll back and modify a slate of gun regulations, announcing more than 30 changes administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The package includes a proposal to repeal a 2024 Biden administration rule that required firearms dealers across the U.S. to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores.

The 2024 rule aimed to close the gun show loophole, which allowed guns to be sold by unlicensed dealers who do not perform background checks. Gun rights groups and Republican-led states challenged the rule in court, arguing it violated the Second Amendment and that President Biden lacked authority to implement it.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called the revisions the "most comprehensive regulatory reform package in the history" of the ATF. Blanche said the changes bring gun regulations in line with Supreme Court precedent while cutting down on unnecessary burdens on firearms sellers and lawful gun owners.

"For too long, regulations were written without any real understanding of how firearms businesses operate, how lawful gun owners handle their firearms, or what truly improves public safety," Blanche said. The regulatory changes were signed shortly after Robert Cekada was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the ATF.

Gun control groups accused the administration of catering to gun rights activists with loosened regulations they said would make the country less safe. "Four days after the nation watched gunfire break out at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the Trump administration's answer is to gut commonsense gun safety laws and sabotage the only federal agency dedicated to keeping guns out of criminal hands," said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.

Cekada joined the ATF in 2005 and has run its day-to-day operations as deputy director for the last year. He is the third person to be confirmed by the Senate to lead the agency since the director's position was made confirmable in 2006. The ATF has mostly been led by acting directors, with both Republican and Democratic administrations failing to get nominees for the director position through the confirmation process.