WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and James Lankford (R-Okla.) are standing up for American’s Second Amendment right to own and use pistol braces without burdensome regulation, registration, and taxation with the reintroduction of the Pistol Brace Protection Act. This bill stops the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) rule by exempting pistol braces from regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA). The Pistol Brace Protection Act eliminates subjective standards that exist in federal law that allowed the ATF to reclassify firearms under the NFA, and guarantees that law-abiding gun owners will not have to register, destroy, or surrender their pistol brace.
“Pistol braces are a common gun accessories that law-abiding gun owners use to stabilize their firearms,” said Risch. “It is simply a piece of plastic, and by no stretch of the imagination does it warrant the Biden administration’s efforts to illegally create and expand the ATF’s federal gun registry. The Pistol Brace Protection Act would protect Idahoans’ Second Amendment and prevent the ATF from reclassifying pistol braces.”
“As the Biden Administration continues to seek creative methods of advancing its anti-gun agenda, Congress must be resolute and oppose all efforts to undermine Second Amendment rights,” said Crapo. This latest action taken by the ATF to confiscate and criminalize pistol braces constitutes the largest executive branch-imposed gun registration and confiscation scheme in American history. Burdening law-abiding Americans with additional firearms restrictions is not the answer to safeguarding the public.”
“The Biden Administration continues to reach far into every aspect of American’s lives,” said Lankford. “ATF consistently finds new ways to manipulate the NFA so it’s difficult and burdensome to be a law-abiding gun owner. Law-abiding gun owners are counting on us to proactively protect their rights and their use of pistol braces. The Biden Administration is trying to quietly erode Second Amendment rights by making guns, ammunition, and gun-related products like pistol braces difficult to own. Congress should pass my bill immediately to make clear to the ATF that we won’t stand for this overreach.”
The National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed the Pistol Brace Protection Act.
"Sen. Lankford recognized early the threat posed by the Biden Administration’s pistol braces rule on law-abiding gun owners. His legislation would thwart this unconstitutional regulation and prevent millions of lawful American gun owners from becoming felons overnight. We fully support Sen. Lankford’s legislation and thank him for his leadership on this important issue,” said Jason Ouimet, Executive Director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.
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