Staff Reports
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has clinched a monumental win in its courtroom battle against the Biden administration’s crusade to crack down on millions of AR-15-style “pistols.”
Recently, a federal district court in Texas ruled that the NRA’s whopping 4 million members are not obligated to adhere to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ directive to register, modify, or dispose of their firearms. This decision comes on the heels of other court rulings safeguarding the 3.7 million members of three additional gun groups from the ATF’s sudden expansion of the rifle definition, encompassing AR pistols, which are among the most sought-after firearms in the nation. Under the new regulations, these firearms would be subjected to taxation and registration.
NRA President Charles Cotton hailed the ruling as a triumph for Second Amendment freedom and vowed to combat President Biden and his “rogue regulators” and thwart what he deemed an unlawful measure. Stephen Gutowski, the founding editor of The Reload, expressed that this ruling delivers an added layer of protection to NRA members as they continue their legal battle against the pistol brace ban.
Big win for @NRA in battle with Biden’s ATF @StephenGutowski @TheReloadSite “The ruling provides another layer of protection to NRA members as the legal fight over the pistol brace ban continues.”https://t.co/mITtZjpnz9 via @dcexaminer pic.twitter.com/EZL4AKbZM8
— Paul Bedard (@SecretsBedard) April 2, 2024
The NRA, along with the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and Gun Owners of America, anticipate the case’s eventual escalation to the Supreme Court, which is currently evaluating other ATF regulations. Gutowski suggested that the high court’s prior judgments on a bump stock ban and “ghost guns” could foreshadow the outcome of the pistol brace dispute.
In a recent development, a federal appeals court declared the ATF’s ruling on adjustable pistol brace stocks for shorter-barreled AR rifles as illegitimate, with the ATF subsequently filing an appeal.
For years, the agency maintained the legality of the brace but shifted its stance due to pressure from the Biden administration to classify the firearms as regulated short-barreled rifles under the National Firearms Act, which dates back to the Al Capone era and targeted concealable machine guns. The agency issued a grace period for owners to register their firearms, dismantle the brace, or discard the weapons. However, only a minuscule percentage of owners complied and registered their firearms, leaving millions in limbo, awaiting the Supreme Court’s verdict.
Although these firearms have been implicated in a limited number of fatal incidents, the administration has designated so-called assault weapons as its primary target in its onslaught against the NRA and firearms in general.
