Hard to believe how far things have regressed since Ashcroft made his stand, and went on record with the official position of the US gov being that the 2nd did indeed address an individual right.
Has Ashcroft’s official statement of federal policy ever been rescinded — or is it merely being igored, swept under the rug?
It's an inconvenient truth. The perfumed princes now, as in the past, don't want an uppity poplace.
Actually Aschroft's letter to the NRA also stated:
Of course, the individual rights view of the Second Amendment dos not prohibit Congress from enacting laws restricting firearms ownership for compelling state interests, such as prohibiting firearms ownership by convicted felons, just as the First Amendment does not prohibit shouting “fire” in a crowded movie theater.
He even messed up the obligatory "fire in a crowded theater" analogy. So "compelling state interests" is little different from the "reasonable regulation of firearms" the current DoJ brief espouses. "shall not be infringed", is not followed by "except for compelling state interests" and/or "except when reasonable".
There is a difference in emphasis between the Ashcroft and current DoJ positions. But you'll note that under Ashcroft, the Ugly Ban was still enforced and violations were prosecuted. The "Brady Instant Registration" system was up and running under his department. If the AW ban did not infringe on the individual right of the people, what would?