After the Dept. of Justice released a new gun control measure which would regulate pistols featuring stabilizing braces, gun rights groups slammed the Biden admin.
The rule, issued on Friday, was created in response to President Joe Biden’s instruction to regulate the use of these braces, which he claimed could essentially convert handguns into short-barreled rifles. A short-barreled rifle requires a federal license, according to the National Firearms Act.
“Keeping our towns safe against gun violence is a top priority for the Department,” said AG Merrick Garland. “Today’s rule makes it clear that firearm makers, dealers, and people cannot circumvent these critical public safety safeguards simply by attaching attachments to pistols that convert them into short-barreled rifles.”
Following Biden’s direction, the ATF produced the regulation, which was published in the Federal Register on Friday. Owners using stabilizing braces will be required to register their firearms as short-barreled rifles under the new law.
“This rule increases public safety and stops anyone from bypassing the laws passed by congress almost a century ago. “During the Al Capone era, Congress stated that short-barreled rifles as well as sawed-off shotguns should be subject to stricter legal constraints than most other guns,” the ATF Director Steve Dettelbach stated.
The Department of Justice also stated that gun owners might return their braces or turn in “covered short-barreled rifles to the ATF.”
Second Amendment supporters and Republicans alike slammed the decision.
Erich Pratt, Senior VP of Gun Owners of America (GOA), stated that his organization’s legal arm would file a lawsuit to contest the rule, citing that pistol braces are utilized by disabled people to properly use handguns.
“President Biden just began the largest federal firearms registration scheme in the nation’s history without even requiring the passing of a new legislation. GOA is working actively with Congress to enact a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to prohibit this regulation,” said Aidan Johnson, GOA’s director of federal affairs.
The Congressional Review Act gives Congress the authority to repeal regulations within 60 days of their introduction.
With the new law, the Biden administration sought to “shred the Constitution,” according to the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) described the rule as a “unacceptable assault” on the Second Amendment and law-abiding citizens. “Today’s announcement by the ATF on pistol braces is nothing short of a gigantic executive enforced gun confiscation plot,” he tweeted.
