ATF Released New Proposed Pistol Brace Rules

[Rafe]

Action Alert from the NRA-ILA:

Take Action - Urge Congress to Overturn ATF’s Brace Rule

The U.S. House is expected to hold a vote next week on H.J.Res.44, legislation that would overturn the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) pistol brace rule. H.J.Res.44, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), is a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would invalidate ATF’s brace rule and block the agency from reissuing the same rule in the future. The U.S. Senate may consider companion legislation sponsored by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) shortly thereafter. Please contact your federal legislators today and encourage them to vote “YES” on the disapproval resolution.

Please contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators TODAY and ask them to vote "YES" on the Disapproval Resolution to block the pistol brace rule.

Link to NRA-ILA campaign page: https://act.nraila.org/campaign/48487/

[ELB]

I’m a member of the Indiana Gun Owners forum as well, and they of course have a thread or six on the ATF pistol brace rule.

One of the members, who I believe is a lawyer, did a summary of all (9) the lawsuits pertaining to the pistol brace rule. He also provides some legal definitions, to help figure out what’s going on.

Here’s a link to the summary. I don’t think you have to be a member of the forum to read the post.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/thread ... st-9585305

[Rafe]

Another notification this morning, this one from Dianna Greenwood, the Texas State Rifle Association Political Committee. Some of the wording is much the same as was the NRA-ILA's from June 8...so I don't know if the vote is expected this week or next week.

For reference, here's the link to H.J.Res.44 at congress.gov: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-con ... olution/44

Take Action - Urge Congress to Overturn ATF’s Brace Rule

TSRAPAC is a state oriented political action committee which focuses on state issues however, the ATF rule regarding the pistol brace warrants us to inform our readers of what is happening in Washington, DC next week.

The U.S. House is expected to hold a vote next week on H.J.Res.44, legislation that would overturn the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) pistol brace rule. H.J.Res.44, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), is a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would invalidate ATF’s brace rule and block the agency from reissuing the same rule in the future. The U.S. Senate may consider companion legislation sponsored by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) shortly thereafter. Please contact your federal legislators today and encourage them to vote “YES” on the disapproval resolution.

ATF’s unlawful rule on stabilizing braces would subject virtually all firearms with attached stabilizing braces to the registration requirements of the National Firearms Act (NFA) – the deadline to register these previously-acquired firearms was Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

Beginning in 2012, when President Biden was serving as then-President Barack Obama’s vice president, the ATF had recognized that stabilizing braces serve a legitimate function, and the inclusion of a stabilizing brace on a pistol or other firearm does not automatically subject that firearm to the provisions of the NFA.
But now, President Biden’s ATF has reversed over a decade of agency guidance and rulings that the firearms industry and law-abiding American gun owners have relied on when designing or acquiring firearms. Stabilizing braces were designed to enable gun owners to operate certain firearms with one hand with more stability. The ATF’s new rule says, essentially, that using a stabilizing brace with a pistol turns the firearm into a short-barreled rifle and must now be regulated by the NFA — and now the millions of Americans who own a pistol and a stabilizing brace, regardless of style, caliber, or type of brace, must either dispose of, alter, or register their firearms. If they don’t comply, they will become felons and face 10 years in prison and large fines.

Again, please take action today by contacting your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators, and encourage them to vote “YES” on the disapproval resolution to overturn ATF’s arbitrary rule.

[Rafe]

In a vote of 50-49, split along party lines, the Senate failed to block Biden's ATF overreach under the Congressional Review Act. The pistol brace rules stand and millions of law-abiding Americans are now felons.

I'd love to find a transcript or recording of the floor debate because everyone's favorite senator, Democratic Majority Leader Chuckles Schumer, evidently flat-out claimed that the braces converted AR pistols into fully-automatic weapons. But from RollCall.com:

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York scolded Republicans for supporting the joint resolution, saying the pistol brace accessory modifies an AK-style pistol so it functions like a short-barreled rifle. Assailants in mass shootings have been aided by a pistol brace, he said.

“Today's Republican push to ease access to deadly pistol braces is an insult to countless families who have lost loved ones because of these enhanced weapons,” Schumer said in a floor speech. “This proposal is a shameful, shameful step backward in America's fight against gun violence.”

Schumer said it is “utterly confounding” that Republicans would support the measure and said Americans are tired of “hard-right politicians” working to take the nation backward in the fight against gun violence.

In truth, though, as I understand things, even if it had passed the Senate it was still open to a Biden veto...which he would have done instantly. So the only way this gets resolved is as a 2A case by the courts.

Here's a press release from Senator John Kennedy (R-La.).

Today, Senate Democrats protected the Biden administration’s misguided rule, which turns law-abiding gunowners in Louisiana and across the nation into criminals in the blink of an eye. Big Brother is demanding that responsible gunowners with pistol braces register their firearms, destroy the firearms, surrender their firearms to the ATF or effectively destroy their braces. President Biden’s assault on the Second Amendment isn’t going to stop.

Press release from Gun Owners of America: https://www.gunowners.org/goa-reacts-to ... race-rule/.

I expect we'll see the NRA-ILA's statement later today or tomorrow.

[Rafe]

From the NRA-ILA about an hour ago:

BREAKING NEWS: NRA Slaps Biden Admin With Lawsuit Over 'Unlawful' Pistol Brace Rule

In a lawsuit filed Monday, the NRA aims to expose "the failings of the new rule – which subjects law-abiding gun owners to penalties, fines, and potential prison sentences for the use of an otherwise legal plastic apparatus on some firearms."

"The NRA has ramped up its offense on this arbitrary and unconstitutional rule," NRA Executive Vice President & CEO Wayne LaPierre said. "We are confident in our ability to confront the ATF and DOJ – and preserve freedom for NRA members."

The NRA previously submitted comments in opposition to the rule, filed a motion to intervene in another legal action and supported a lawsuit by several state attorneys general filed in North Dakota.

Read more from Fox News at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nra-sl ... brace-rule.

[ELB]

From the NRA-ILA about an hour ago:

BREAKING NEWS: NRA Slaps Biden Admin With Lawsuit Over 'Unlawful' Pistol Brace Rule

In a lawsuit filed Monday, the NRA aims to expose "the failings of the new rule – which subjects law-abiding gun owners to penalties, fines, and potential prison sentences for the use of an otherwise legal plastic apparatus on some firearms."

"The NRA has ramped up its offense on this arbitrary and unconstitutional rule," NRA Executive Vice President & CEO Wayne LaPierre said. "We are confident in our ability to confront the ATF and DOJ – and preserve freedom for NRA members."

The NRA previously submitted comments in opposition to the rule, filed a motion to intervene in another legal action and supported a lawsuit by several state attorneys general filed in North Dakota.

Read more from Fox News at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nra-sl ... brace-rule.

it leaves out of that NRA is doing this because they lost the motion to intervene in the North Texas case.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap ... 9.85.0.pdf


There are several anti-rule lawsuits in process for months now, and as far as I know the NRA has not been a litigant in any of them. They’ve made some publicity noise, and I think they filed friend of the court brief or something, but they haven’t been a plaintiff on this issue until they attempted to join the North Texas case to piggyback on the prelim injunction granted to the real plaintiffs, which attempt was denied this past weekend. The more the merrier, but they seem awfully late to the party.