Staff Reports
The ATF's final rule implementing the pistol brace requirements could classify millions of people as felons. These individuals would be ineligible to buy or possess firearms if they fail to follow the new requirements.
In January, the agency issued a final rule that redefined the term "rifle" to include any firearm that was designed or remade to fire from the shoulder. This would require pistol brace owners to register their firearms with the government.
For people who have pistol brace modifications, the ATF has allowed them to make their firearms a SBR by modifying the barrel length. They can then surrender their firearms or destroy them.
Alan Gottlieb, the executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, criticized the ATF's actions. He noted that the agency is in a "confiscation mode."
According to Gottlieb, if people don't register their firearms within a certain period and pay the $200 fee, they might have to either destroy or turn their guns in. There are around 10 to 40 million individuals in the US who have pistol brace firearms.
The rule issued by the ATF reclassifies pistol brace firearms as SBRs. If owners decide to leave their guns as they are, they will have to pay the required NFA tax stamp.
According to The Federalist, the ATF doesn't have the authority to reduce the fee. Those who want to avoid paying the fee must first complete one of the agency's options. Failure to do so could result in a fine of $10,000 or up to 10 years in prison.
The rule also states that if a pistol brace owner decides to remove it from their firearm, they must destroy the attachment first. The NRA, on the other hand, claims that the ATF doesn’t have the authority to regulate firearms accessories.
The ATF Pistol Brace Rule has been submitted to the Federal Registry & will be published soon.
How many SHOT Show attendees will soon be felons? How many ATF agents are roaming the event pretending to be their friends?
Help us prepare to take action at https://t.co/6Pp2ekN6th. pic.twitter.com/dSbQ3raIFA
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) January 19, 2023
Gottlieb also noted that the agency might have violated the proper procedure by defining a rifle and pistol brace as SBRs instead of rifles.
According to Gottlieb, the ATF doesn't have the power to make these definitions because Congress has already defined what a firearm is. The agency's actions, whenever it makes its own rulings based on what it feels, are threatening to gun owners in the country.
He also noted that the ATF is being used by the Biden administration to carry out its own regulations instead of going through Congress to pass laws.
Besides regulating gun control, the agency also has the power to impose regulations that are aimed at confiscation.
Following the ATF's announcement regarding the reclassification of certain firearms accessories, 48 Republican senators criticized the agency. They sent a letter to US Attorney General Garland.
"In their letter, the senators noted that the proposed rule would turn law-abiding individuals into criminals. It would also establish the largest gun registration program in the country's history."
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Daily Caller.
