The bureau just released dozens of new gun rule proposals. We've examined the details of them ourselves, we've discussed them with representatives of the gun industry, and now we're hearing directly from the man who spearheaded the effort. That's ATF Chief Counsel Robert Leider.

He joins the show to explain the bureau's thinking on the dozens of changes. He claims the ATF's goal was to streamline and, especially, modernize the gun buying process. Leider said the goal was both to remove burdens on gun owners and gun dealers, especially as a contrast to the previous administration's "zero-tolerance" approach to industry oversight.

He said he looked to shrink the background check form down as small as possible while still complying with federal law. Leider also said he found ways to shrink the burden on gun businesses as well, primarily by allowing them to store records electronically and by reducing how long they need to keep them. He then responded to criticism that the time should be reduced even further than what the ATF has proposed.

Additionally, Leider directly said the rule requiring anyone filling out any ATF form to use their birth gender is not a trans gun ban. He said even if the gender listed on somebody's state ID did not match what the ATF is telling them to put on the background check form, it wouldn't result in a gun sale denial. He also said the ATF plans to offer official guidance to gun stores on how to handle situations like that once the rule is finalized.

Leider also defended the breadth of many of the rules. He said they were designed to survive legal scrutiny, which the larger swings the bureau took under the Biden Administration couldn't.

Special Guest: Robert Leider.

Stories:
-https://thereload.com/trump-atf-director-signs-34-gun-rule-changes-moments-after-bipartisan-confirmation/
-https://thereload.com/virginia-state-police-say-they-take-no-position-on-background-check-law-despite-alert-to-gun-dealers/
-https://thereload.com/scotus-turns-away-weed-and-guns-case-despite-doj-request/
-https://thereload.com/newsletter-atf-gets-new-director-dozens-of-new-rules/
-https://thedispatch.com/article/epstein-potential-gun-crimes/
-https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2026/04/29/maryland-supreme-court-strikes-down-local-gun-control-laws-n1232368
-https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/28/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-us/

To wade through those moves and navigate where the signs point, we've got Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms back on the show. We look at different stories from Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). As Cam noted, some were bigger deals than others.

First, HHS deleted a Biden-era report calling for new gun restrictions--like an "assault weapons" ban--from its website. Cam said that move was one well within the President's authority. He said that while the action arrived at a comparatively slow pace to some of the other things the Trump Administration is doing, it mirrored what it did in shutting down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and could signal more is coming in the short term.

Then there is the first rule related to guns from the new administration. The DOJ published a plan to restart the gun rights restoration process. Cam said it was more of a plan to make a plan, but he argued it was another strong sign the administration plans to follow through on promised gun rulemaking.

The final development points in the same direction and may be the strongest indicator of what's to come, according to Cam. That's the appointment of Robert Leider as the new ATF Chief Counsel. Cam argued that Leider, a Second Amendment scholar and gun-rights advocate, will likely put his expertise to use to help enact numerous pro-gun reforms.

Get a 30-day free trial for a subscription to The Dispatch here: https://thedispatch.com/join-offer-reload/?utm_source=thereload&utm_medium=partnerships-podcast&utm_campaign=0125

Special Guest: Cam Edwards.

With Donald Trump coming back into office having already promised to fire the current ATF director, it's an open question of what he might do with the agency. That's why we have George Mason University Professor Robert Leider back on the show to hear his view of what moves gun-rights activists should pursue. Leider has studied the administrative side of gun policy.

He argues it would be more effective for activists to push for a competent ATF leader to institute pro-gun reforms than to try to cripple the organization. He noted it's very unlikely legislation to disband the ATF or to repeal the underlying laws it enforces could pass Congress. He said the ATF's responsibilities could be moved to another federal law enforcement agency, like the FBI, but argued they could upset activists just as much, if not more.

Leider believes Trump would be better off appointing a new director who understands how the agency operates. He said there are a lot of ways to affect federal gun policy without changing the underlying laws. That's because federal law specifically provides the agency with a lot of leeway on enforcement.

Special Guest: Robert Leider.

That's why we've got George Mason University's Robert Leider on the podcast. He is an assistant professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School who has clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. He has also written extensively about Second Amendment law.

He said District Court Judge David Counts was correct in his conclusion that the ban on those under felony inducement receiving firearms does not have a historical analogue. He said the same is true for the ban on convicted felons possessing guns. Leider argued the text-and-tradition standard imposed by the Supreme Court's decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen calls both those federal provisions into question alongside a myriad of other gun laws.

Still, he said it's unlikely the felony prohibition will end up in the dustbin. Leider said Counts's solution to the issue, which relies on the historical practice of excluding felons from protections for "the people," may not be the right answer. But he said the federal courts are likely to settle on a justification due in part to the popularity of the restrictions. He argued judicial realism will play a role in how the question plays out even if that's not what the Supreme Court requires.

Leider also talked about what he views as the biggest threat to legal gun carry: New York's novel attempt to prohibit carry in public businesses by default. He said the decision to flip the presumption on its head could be difficult to contend with in court. It forces a faceoff between the right to carry and private property rights that has yet to be litigated.

He said it's not clear how things will turn out and worries the policy could quickly spread to other states. Although, he also lays out a possible Achilles' Heel in New York's implementation.

Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I talk about new polls that show how Beto O'Rourke's gun-control push in Texas is playing out. And Reload Member Bobby Mercer joins the show to talk about how he got into guns as well as what The Liberal Gun Club is and why he joined it.

Special Guest: Robert Leider.