RRLEF Act of 2025

Key Points

• Police departments would lose eligibility for federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grants if they buy or sell firearms through dealers flagged for high rates of crime-linked gun sales. Departments must certify they will not do business with these flagged dealers to keep their funding.
• A gun dealer would be placed on the watch list if the ATF traced at least 25 firearms from their business to crime scenes within three years of the last known retail sale, in at least two of the prior three calendar years. This pattern is considered a strong indicator of potential gun trafficking.
• The ATF would be required to publish a public list of flagged gun dealers on its website every year, starting within 120 days of enactment. This would give police departments, local governments, and the general public access to information about which dealers are most often linked to criminal activity.
• The ATF would also be required to notify state and local police if a firearm their agency previously transferred was later used or suspected of being used in a crime. This helps departments track where their retired weapons end up.
• The bill repeals several longstanding appropriations riders (dating back to 2003) that have blocked the ATF from sharing gun trace data with the public. These restrictions, often known as the Tiahrt Amendments, have limited transparency about how guns move from legal sales to criminal use.