The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is moving to overhaul how it handles a key question on federal gun forms.
Buried within a broader slate of regulatory changes is a proposal that would require applicants to list their “biological sex” — and not a gender with which they “identify.”
The agency said the change is meant to clarify confusion and will have no effect on who is or is not eligible to pass a background check.
According to a DOJ and ATF news release issued last week, the agency is rolling out 34 notices of proposed and final rule changes in a series of sweeping updates focused on protecting Second Amendment rights.
Officials said the broader goal is to simplify regulations while maintaining public safety and protecting the right to self-defense.
“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the release.
He added that the department is “ending the weaponization of federal authority against law-abiding gun owners.”
ATF Director Robert Cekada said that enforcement will target criminals rather than technical mistakes by lawful owners or those seeking to become gun owners.
“Our enforcement focus from here on out is on willful violators and criminal actors,” Cekada said in the same release.
One proposal stands out perhaps more than some others, and involves how applicants answer questions about gender on ATF forms.
The agency said prospective gun buyers should select their biological sex — either choosing male or female.
The proposal made clear that biological sex “does not include the concept of gender identity.”
The Independent claimed the rule change would single out “trans people” trying to obtain weapons.
Trump’s ATF accused of trying to ‘intimidate’ transgender gun owners after LGBTQ+ clubs see ‘explosive’ growth https://t.co/IDizhUDB7c pic.twitter.com/nSHUkvNWk5
— The Independent (@Independent) April 26, 2026
“Such a rule would make it easier for ATF to gather lists of trans gun owners, simply by identifying where names appear to conflict with the listed sex, according to firearms policy experts,” the outlet said.
The outlet cited experts who argued “it could also deter trans people from buying guns legally, since complying with paperwork would create a ‘Catch 22’ situation — and a false statement comes with the threat of federal charges and prison time.”
The proposed change has been announced after a dramatic rise in mass shootings by people who have self-identified as transgender or nonbinary in recent years.
The Firearms Policy Coalition simplified each proposal in a post on X:
The ATF has posted summaries of the new regulations, which include:
1) Repeal Biden’s pistol brace rule
2) Revising “engaged in the business” rule
3) Revising machine gun definition in response to Cargill decision
4) Remove requirement for FFLs to post info about Youth Handgun…— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) April 29, 2026
Other changes would roll back prior rules, including the Biden-era pistol brace regulation.
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