CNN Offers Cringeworthy Framing of ATF Reform Efforts

Wednesday’s announcement of nearly three dozen proposed changes to ATF rules and regulations is big news, and not just in 2A (or gun control) circles. Rather than straight reporting on the rule changes and what they mean for individual gun owners and firearm industry members, though, CNN bizarrely decided to tie in the news from the ATF with another big story this week. 

“Justice Department seeks to roll back gun control measures days after Trump assassination attempt,” is the framing CNN decided to go with. 

Days after a gunman charged security at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner in what investigators say was an attempt to kill President Donald Trump with legally-owned firearms, his Justice Department is further rolling back gun control measures.

“We’re repealing rules that went beyond what the law allows,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday at a press conference. “We are cutting unnecessary red tape, and we are replacing confusion with clear, straightforward language so that everyday Americans don’t need a law degree just to understand their rights.”

As CNN admits, the suspect charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump legally purchased the pump-action shotgun and semi-automatic handgun from two California gun shops, abiding by all state and federal gun control laws. So why try to tie these two very separate stories together? 

My guess is that CNN chose this framing because it suggests that the Trump administration isn’t taking “gun violence” seriously. There are a couple of problems with that narrative, though. First, there’s nothing in the 34 proposed rules that would empower violent criminals, which is why the immediate complaints from gun control groups in response to the announcement by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and newly-confirmed ATF Director Robert Cekada were full of vague indignation. 

Gun control groups know that most of the ATF’s proposed rules are technical things that will be very hard to get their supporters outraged about, so they’ll point to the package in general and claim it will increase crime, instead of identifying anything they specifically dislike

— Rob Romano (@2Aupdates) April 30, 2026

The second problem with CNN’s narrative is that violent crime continues to trend down during Donald Trump’s second year of his second term, after historic declines in the homicide rate in 2025. Criminologist Jeff Asher’s Real Time Crime Index shows homicides have fallen 22% this year compared to the same time period in 2025, which also saw a drop in murders compared to the same point in 2024. Some cities are seeing even bigger drops;  murders down 37% in Philadelphia, and a 46% reduction in homicides in Washington, D.C., for instance. 

If CNN wants to tie the attempted assassination of President Trump to the ATF’s new era of reform, it should have pointed to rule changes that would have impacted the suspect in some way. CNN did no such thing, because as far as I can tell there are no proposed rules that would have aided him in his assassination attempt. 

As Blanche said during Wednesday’s press conference, the proposed rules are meant to help lawful gun owners easily understand both federal statute and ATF’s interpretations of the law, but “nothing we are doing today weakens law enforcement.” 

Blanche could have added, “or benefits violent offenders.” 

Not that it would have mattered to CNN, which also delivered this gem on Thursday: “White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting yields debates over security, new ballroom — but not guns.” 

They’ve got their narrative and they’re sticking to it, regardless of how detached from reality it is.  

Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and gun owners.

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