WASHINGTON (June 27, 2025) – In an effort to revise or eliminate about 47 rules and restrictions surrounding firearms by July 4th, the U.S Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sent employees to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The scope of the potential changes include the changing of certain ATF positions, firearm importations, and possible refundable licensing fees.
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Peter Loge is an associate professor at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. Professor Loge has more than 30 years of experience in politics and communications and currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication.
“Most Americans support reasonable gun control and stronger gun laws, very few Americans think gun laws should be weaker,” Loge says. “Making it easier for more people to have more weapons is bad politics, regardless of its merits as policy.”
Casey Burgat is an associate professor at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Professor Burgat is the director of the Legislative Affair program and host of its Mastering the Room podcast. He also wrote regularly for both scholarly and journalistic publications, including CNN, the Washington Post, Politico, and appeared on a variety of television and radio outlets.
Matt Dallek is a professor at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Professor Dallek is a political historian whose intellectual interests include the intersection of social crises and political transformation, the evolution of the modern conservative movement, and liberalism and its critics.
Ethan Porter is an associate professor at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs and of Political Science. Professor Porter research has appeared or is forthcoming in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Politics, British Journal of Political Science, Political Behavior, Political Communication and other journals.
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