Hinds Today

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi has joined forces with Senator James Risch of Idaho to reintroduce the ATF Transparency Act. This legislation aims to improve fairness, timeliness, and transparency for Americans undergoing background checks when purchasing firearms.

Hyde-Smith is an original cosponsor of the bill, which seeks to enhance the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' (ATF) processes under the National Firearms Act. She stated, "No system is infallible, including the federal bureaucracy. The ATF Transparency Act would help ensure law-abiding Americans aren’t denied their Second Amendment rights due to mistakes in their background checks that may wrongfully prevent them from owning a firearm." She credited Senator Risch for leading efforts to address this issue.

Risch emphasized the need for an efficient appeals process for those wrongfully denied firearm ownership. He explained, "Law-abiding gun owners wrongfully denied their Second Amendment rights should be able to appeal their case through an efficient, transparent process. My ATF Transparency Act is simple. It codifies the current appeals process, holds the ATF to a higher standard, and gives Idaho’s lawful gun owners a faster, fairer process for firearm applications."

The proposed legislation mandates that the ATF establish an appeal process for individuals whose background checks are wrongly denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Currently, no formal appeal mechanism exists even if denials result from mistaken identity or misinterpreted records.

The Gun Owners of America and National Rifle Association back this initiative. Other cosponsors include Senators Mike Crapo of Idaho, Steve Daines of Montana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Roger Marshall of Kansas, and Tim Sheehy of Montana.

Recently, Hyde-Smith was among 30 Republican Senators who urged the ATF to rescind Biden-era rules perceived as infringing on Second Amendment rights and align its policies with a recent Executive Order by President Trump.