Trump’s ATF Takes Aim at Trans Gun Rights: What It Means and How To Fight Back

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, also known as the ATF or BATFE, has proposed new, updated rules for a variety of their practices. Some of these have been met with joy from firearm owners, but one particular change is significantly problematic to queer and trans firearm enthusiasts and instructors.

Several queer firearm educators and instructors warn that — if the rules go into effect — they could seriously damage healthy gun culture at large, society at large, and specifically community activists looking to participate in community-oriented defense practices.

It involves a change to a single form.

“The issue is that all aspects of government identification must match what is entered on the 4473 when making a firearm purchase, including gender,” Tacticool Girlfriend, a firearms educator and activist, told Trans News Network. “In the past because these could legally align, there generally was no issue. However, with the proposed ATF rule changes, this will include a requirement to enter assigned gender at birth on the 4473 - if these do not align with a gender marker change on a government ID, it will theoretically deny the sale due to that mismatch.

“But making a firearm purchase with 4473 fields filled out incorrectly in the eyes of the ATF can grounds for a felony. This creates a very dangerous Catch 22.”

The ATF Form 4473 is a federal background check performed every time a firearm is purchased or transferred at a gun store, as well as in a few other instances.

If you buy a gun online, what that actually means in practice is that you pay an online store to ship the gun to your local store, which then will perform the 4473 required to transfer it to you personally.

There are 22 states that allow for purchases of firearms outside of this system, a number which has shrunk from 32 in 2002, as states add more and more restrictions to so-called “private sale” purchases. When you fill out the 4473, you are filling out a legally binding form. Lying on it, or even providing seemingly contradictory information that the federal government could read as a lie, is considered a felony.

The 4473 is submitted to confirm you are legally allowed to own a firearm through what is called a NICCS check (National Instant Criminal Check System), an FBI-controlled system that confirms whether a gun buyer is a felon or not. In order for a purchase to be completed, you must pass a 4473, and you must also show the dealer that you are the person listed in the 4473 with ID to match.

The proposed change, however, means that any trans person whose ID matches their true selves, even if it’s legally up to date, may not reflect the information the ATF now requires to be put into the 4473. That’s a problem.

“Its a backdoor way into banning trans people from having firearms,” Dana, a firearm instructor based in Massachusetts with years of competitive and educational experience, said. “And it's worded in such a way that the NRA probably won't raise much fuss like they did over the ‘ban trans people from having guns’ effort from a few months ago.”

Last September, when the Trump administration attempted to blatantly curtail the rights of trans gun owners, the NRA made national headlines when it explicitly condemned the move.

“The NRA supports the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans to purchase, possess and use firearms,” the organization declared in a social media post. “NRA does not, and will not, support any policy proposals that implement sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process.” That post was labelled “The 2nd Amendment is not up for debate.”

But there have been no statements from the NRA about the recent rule updates from the ATF. TNN reached out to the NRA for comment but had not received any response from them as of publication.

The new rules, importantly, do not explicitly say “transgender” or “ban” anywhere.

“The latest ATF proposal largely includes more permissive adjustments for the average gun owner,” Tacticool Girlfriend said, with a note of frustration. “But they sure did pull a dirty trick and squeezed in this culture war nonsense to tack on to what has largely been positively received by gun owners in general who are often ambivalent at best, and transphobic at worst with regard to this matter.”

“From more mainstream gun rights advocacy groups and individuals, this proposal appears to be pretty warmly received,” she continued. “Honestly, it's not surprising, but it's still very discouraging to see bigger voices in the space not take a stand for this blatant infringement - it really feels like a ‘well, I got mine, I'm not worried about yours’ tone. The silence is deafening.”

“I've not really seen any response from them,” Dana commented. “Most of what I've seen in the various gun blogs have been focused on the lifting of restrictions on NFA items and have been in favor of the rules package.”

The National Firearms Act, or NFA, also lists several categories of items that have additional background checks required. These include things like suppressors or launchers, while not being guns, that also require their own NICS check and therefore their own 4473.

Some categories of firearms also get additional checks, such as short-barreled rifles and disguised firearms (which fall under the AOW or Any Other Weapon category). Purchasing something like a suppressor (an item now considered a necessary safety tool for most shooters in a number of European countries, rather than a dangerous weapon) would carry the same difficulties for trans people that a gun purchase at a store would if the new ATF rules go into effect

“To me that's another step towards genocide and singling out of trans people,” Flick. a shooting activist and student in California, said. “If there wasn't such a push against transness I probably would have [changed my ID] last year. My home is the only place I can wear a dress, and even then my family had to get used to it. Going outside to take the trash out is a fear during this time, as my neighborhood is also very conservative. Even in my own home I'm afraid that wearing a dress when family friends come over unannounced is going to lead to something bad.”

“I'm planning on moving to a different state and buying a firearm when I get there. I think it (the rule changes) will make it (purchasing a gun) harder for others, but for now I have the ability to present as male and let my ‘disguise’ work. I purposefully boymode,” they continued. “For my safety, seeing as how I'm in a very conservative area for the state I live in.”

Disarming minority groups is one of the early stages of genocidal behavior. Organizations like the Lemkin Institute, as well as many trans people and groups, have warned that a genocide is exactly what we’re facing. It is far easier to commit to the later steps of dehumanization, persecution, and execution if the populations you are targeting with hate and propaganda do not have an effective means of defending themselves. These measures, being taken by this genocidally transphobic administration specifically, are a serious threat, especially in the wake of a failed attempt to simply outright ban trans people from firearm access.

Its effects won’t be quite so immediate for a lot of trans gun owners, especially current shooters and firearm enthusiasts, but if it goes into effect it will have an outsized effect on those who choose to get armed in the near future for the first time.

“I'm both blessed and cursed with some foresight here, and I sure hate being right at times like this,” Tacticool Girlfriend, her tone mirroring a weary Cassandra’s unheeded prophecy. “But I saw this coming years ago with the culture war rhetoric being built up against trans people, along with many other marginalized groups, and have been trying to warn people of what's on the horizon. I at least made sure I got my firearm and NFA purchases made already before we reached this juncture.”

“It absolutely will make me more anxious about buying firearms in the future,” Dana said. “The two places I've bought firearms from clearly know I'm some flavor of trans or gender nonconforming. One of the dealers is def a right-wing kinda person but hasn't given me any shit about the non-binary option on the paperwork, the other is an ally to transfolk. We’ll see what happens next time I guess.”

There is still time do something, however.

“The public comment phase of the proposal ends on August 4, 2026,” Tacticool noted. “In which case any and all of these items could theoretically be applied as-is. It should be assumed that the window for filling out the 4473 as we know it will be closing for trans people by then. Some states will allow private sales without filling out a 4473 and doing a background check, but many do require this, even in private sales, so be sure to check your local laws. Regardless, your safest bet is making any and all wish list purchases before that window closes. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst as I always say.”

There are a handful of states, particularly in the South, that allow for sales without a 4473, but it is far more common nowadays to see private sales and even gunshows requiring someone calling in the background checks as loopholes are constantly being closed.

The public comment section on the proposed ATF rules, available here, will allow for people to respond to the rules. Once the public comments are closed on August 4, the ATF will either choose to move forward with the new proposed rules, including the new 4473, move forward with some of the changes but not the 4473, or move forward with no changes at all.

But the ATF has responded to public pressure on this front in the past, including recently responding to public pressure around so-called “pistol braces.” So in theory, it is possible to apply enough public pressure that this doesn’t become a thing, especially if cis shooters and gun advocates support trans people in fighting the new rule.

But there is a significant chance that the rules will go into effect anyway as this is not something that has, so far, seen large resistance, especially among people influencing opinions in the shooting space.

“While a minority, many are rightfully upset on our behalf and are calling it for what it is,” Dana said with a tone of optimism that quickly faded. “But outside of the usual suspects? I'm not seeing much chatter at all about this particular facet of the proposal.”

There have been responses from some in the community to push towards (where fully legal) 3D production and DIY manufacturing methods like 80% frame construction. These methods have been around, substantially, for decades providing a DIY alternative — however they have also been known to produce weapons that have significant reliability and quality issues. As such they should be considered hesitantly at most in the vast majority of cases.

“I have certainly seen people propose such things as another alternative around such restrictions,” Tacticool said. “But these means remain a niche interest and still an intimidating, high barrier of entry for the average gun owner who isn't already an enthusiast with regards to such things.”

It should also be noted that these weapons also often run into state-level issues as various local areas will add additional legal hurdles or possibly simply make them impossible for people to engage with meaningfully.

“I think you'd need to be pretty experienced with either 3D printing or basic shop work to successfully produce a firearm from non-serialized parts,” Dana said. “Its not the kind of thing you can do in a weekend using basic home tools. Its not hard from what I've read, but it takes guidance and someone who knows how to keep the tools from doing dumb things.”

“It's not something I can hide,” Flick said. “Where I am I think it's illegal. Even if I was okay with taking that kind of risk, troubleshooting is not something I have the patience for.”

That patience refers to the fact that most DIY firearms require a fair amount of diagnosing and problem-solving to function properly. These weapons can become functional and reliable but you are in effect the factory when making one and as such your ability to diagnose complex engineering and materials science issues can determine how well it works.

“Still,” continued Tacticool Girlfriend with a detectable note of resignation. “If this change does go in place, I'm sure such alternatives will necessarily become popular among some of those left in the dark after going into motion.”

The answer, as is often the case, may just lie in going with each other to support each other through the problems. “I always offer to go with my students when they are ready to make a purchase,” Dana said.

Perhaps we’ll find an answer to this through embracing each other and supporting the community as a whole. As the saying within the queer firearms community goes: stay dangerous and keep each other safe.

—Edited by David Forbes

Finley Smith is a firearm education and instructor. When they’re not creating videos for Queer Armorer, a queer-oriented YouTube channel with firearm animations to teach concepts and techniques, they run Rainbow Reload, a queer-oriented shooting space aimed at helping queer folk who want to defend themselves get up to speed as fast as they can.