d a $200 permit tax on the devices. The Justice Department opted not to appeal the judge's decision.

Cekada told The Associated Press on Friday that after the judge's ruling, federal law enforcement was inundated with questions from the public and members of Congress about how the government was going to handle enforcement nationwide. The Trump administration believed that the  best and fairest thing to do  was to address the rules nationwide to avoid a confusing patchwork of regulations across the country, Cekada said in an interview.

Groups that support gun restrictions decried the judge's ruling and the Justice Department's decision to let it stand as reckless and argued that the regulations are important for public safety.

In a statement on Friday, John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said Cekada had embraced the  smash-and-grab lawlessness of the Trump administration by attempting to pick and choose which federal gun laws he enforces. 

Under the new guidance, ATF will no longer require registration unless the buyer lives in one of about 15 states that have state laws requiring that people go through the federal permitting process. The registration process will still apply for machine guns and what are considered  destructive devices  under federal law, the Justice Department said.

And in all cases, people will still have to fill out the standard firearms purchasing form, which includes questions about things that would disqualify someone from legal gun ownership, and they also have to pass a background check, officials said.