WASHINGTON – Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and John Kennedy (R-La.), with more than 40 Republican senators introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to prevent the Biden administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from enforcing an anti-Second Amendment pistol brace rule.
The rule, titled Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces, would reclassify pistols as short-barreled rifles if they have a stabilizing brace attachment, even though many disabled veterans and other Americans rely on these braces to use their firearms. Under this rule, otherwise lawful gun owners could face up to 10 years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines if they fail to register pistols with stabilizing braces with the ATF. If gun owners do not register their firearms, they would have to destroy the firearm, surrender their firearm to the ATF or remove the brace in such a way that it cannot be reattached.
“The Biden Administration’s blatant disregard for Constitutional rights hit a new low with their pistol brace rule. This new rule will require owners of a pistol brace to consent to being added to a federal gun registry—which is blatantly illegal—or risk up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to a quarter million dollars. The American people need a say in whether this rule is instituted. I strongly oppose this unlawful ban, and look forward to the chance to vote against this rule in the Senate,” said Risch.
“This latest action taken by the ATF constitutes one of the largest executive branch-imposed gun registration and confiscation scheme in American history,” said Crapo. “As the Biden Administration continues to seek creative methods to bypass the legislative process and advance its anti-gun agenda, Congress must be resolute and oppose all efforts to undermine Second Amendment rights.”
“Millions of law-abiding Americans use pistol braces, and many of those Americans rely on braces because they are disabled. If Congress doesn’t correct the ATF’s misguided rule, countless law-abiding gunowners in Louisiana and other states will become criminals in the blink of an eye. The Biden administration’s assault on the Second Amendment isn’t going to stop unless we defend this fundamental liberty,” said Kennedy.
In 2012, the Obama-Biden administration’s ATF determined that pistol-brace attachments do not change the classification of a pistol to that of a rifle. Despite this, the Biden administration in 2021 directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to propose a rule that clarifies when a pistol with a brace attachment should be designated as a rifle.
Earlier this year, the DOJ announced the “stabilizing braces” final rule.
Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Ohio), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) also cosponsored the legislation.
# # #
