pistol braces

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Congressmen Question ATF’s Pistol Brace Move

December 23, 2020 by 1 Comment

In a move organized by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), he and 89 other members of the House of Representatives have sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr and BATFE Acting Director Regina Lombardo expressing their “deep concern” on proposed guidance on pistol braces.

You can read the letter in its entirety below. You can also check to see if your representative is one of the 89 others who signed on to this letter. If they are not, ask them why not.

My current congressman, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), signed it and I have no doubt my incoming congressman, Rep-elect Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) would sign on to it in the future.

Hudson and Members Letter to Doj and Atf Re Stabilizing Braces by jpr9954 on Scribd

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Quote Of The Day

December 22, 2020 by 1 Comment

The quote of the day comes from my friend David Cole who blogs at DeltaBravoCharlie.com. It is from his Facebook page and captures the essence of the BATFE’s moves on 80% frames/lowers and pistol braces. The quote references Ayn Rand’s masterpiece Atlas Shrugged.

In case you’re not sure if your braced AR pistol or your 80% gun build is legal, remember this passage from “Atlas Shrugged”…

“Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against – then you’ll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We’re after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you’d better get wise to it. There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now, that’s the system, Mr. Rearden, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.”

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ATF Request For Comment Closes January 4th

December 22, 2020 by 4 Comments

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives released their official request for comment on “objective factors for classifying weapons with stabilizing braces” on Friday, December 18th. When I last checked, they had received over 4,500 comments on that day alone.

I submitted my own comment on Saturday. Rather than addressing every aspect of their so-called objective factors (which aren’t), I only spoke to weight, caliber, and some accessories as well as to the length of the comment period. It is essential for future litigation that comments address what is specified in the Request for Comment. Moreover, as I understand it, if something is not brought up in the comments, it cannot be brought up later in a suit seeking an injunction.

Please notice that BATFE has signaled their intent to bring most, if not all, brace-equipped pistols under the NFA. In their “generosity”, they will waive the $200 tax. What is not said is that they will have just added upwards of 3 million pistols as to a Federal firearm registry.

Here is the official notice as sent out by BATFE in an email this weekend.

ATF is publishing the objective factors it considers when evaluating firearms with an attached stabilizing brace to determine whether they are considered firearms under the National Firearms Act (NFA) and/or the Gun Control Act. 

ATF publishes this notice to inform and invite comment from the industry and public on the proposed guidance prior to issuing a final document.  Upon issuance of final guidance, ATF will provide additional information to aid persons and companies in complying with federal laws and regulations. 

This notice also outlines ATF’s enforcement priorities regarding persons who, prior to publication of this notice, made or acquired, in good faith, firearms equipped with a stabilized brace.

Finally, this notice previews ATF’s and the Department of Justice’s plan to subsequently implement a separate process for current possessors of stabilizer-equipped firearms to choose to register such firearms in compliance with the NFA, including an expedited application process and the retroactive exemption of such firearms from the collection of NFA taxes.

Read the general notice

Submit a Comment by January 4

You may submit comments, identified by docket number ATF 2020R-10, by any of the following methods:

  • Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
  • Mail: Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 99 New York Ave. NE, Mail Stop 6N-518, Washington, DC 20226; ATTN: ATF 2020R-10
  • Fax: (202) 648-9741

All comments must reference this document’s docket number (ATF 2020R-10), be legible, and include the commenter’s complete first and last name and full mailing address. ATF will not consider, or respond to, comments that do not meet these requirements or comments containing excessive profanity.

Written comments must be postmarked and electronic comments must be submitted on or before January 4, 2021. All properly completed comments received will be posted without change to the Federal eRulemaking portal, www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. 

Submit a formal comment

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BATFE To Issue “Guidance” On Pistol Braces

December 17, 2020 by 3 Comments

Firearms attorney Joshua Prince posted an alert last night regarding a move by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to institute a rulemaking with regard to pistol braces. He had been given a draft copy of their proposal. Included in that proposal which I have embedded below, was a plan for DOJ to “subsequently implement a separate process for current possessors of stabilizer-equipped firearms to choose to register such firearms in compliance with the NFA.”

Atf Federal Register Notice Objective Factors for Classifying Stablizing Braces Draft 12-16-20 by jpr9954 on Scribd

As Mr. Prince notes, the BATFE seems to be planning only a 14-day comment period which seems to be in violation of the law. With the incoming and virulently anti-gun Biden Administration, one must wonder whether adherence to the law will matter to them. Even before the Electoral College met, the leadership of BATFE in the persons of Acting Director Regina Lombardo and Deputy Director Marvin Richardson (no relation) apparently has been reaching out to the Biden Administration on new gun control measures.

The Firearms Policy Coalition sent out a release on this late last night. They offer their initial thoughts on it. I think it is worth reading in its entirety.

WASHINGTON D.C. (December 16, 2020) — Your FPC team is in receipt of a draft notice from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) regarding how the agency will be evaluating weapons with “stabilizing braces.” Based upon our initial review of this notice, we offer these thoughts for your consideration:

1) The draft document does not appear to reflect a new “ban” on pistol braces or firearms with such devices. The ATF, evidently, is not indicating that the mere presence of a brace on a pistol automatically converts the firearm into one under the purview of the National Firearms Act (“NFA”). (Indeed, the ATF has no authority to declare accessories like pistol braces to be NFA components, though the agency’s previous conduct provides little reassurance.)

2) The draft document instead purports to be intended to inform the public on how brace-equipped firearms will be examined in the future. Based on the criteria set forth in the draft document, it appears that the ATF would take something of a ‘totality of the circumstances’ approach in determining whether a specific brace-equipped pistol is a ‘short-barreled’ firearm regulated under the NFA. These criteria include: the firearm’s type, caliber, weight, and length, the design of the brace itself, whether the firearm can be properly aimed when using the attachment as a brace, and whether an optic that cannot properly be used one-handed is present (i.e., something that suggests intent). The agency also indicates that it will observe the marketing of firearms and accessories, as well as other more subjective factors.

3) Importantly, the draft document recognizes that most people with braced firearms have acted in good faith. It suggests that the agency seeks to establish a procedure by which people who already have firearms that may fall under the purview of the NFA, and who wish to take advantage of registering them as NFA firearms to obtain the legal protections of such, may potentially do so without payment of the associated tax.

FPC believes that the NFA is an unconstitutional infringement of the People’s rights, that the ATF should be abolished, and that any policy or practice enforcing the Act is unconstitutional and immoral. 

With that said, the policies in the draft document do not appear to be a significant departure from previous publicly undisclosed agency policies, some of which were discovered through criminal prosecutions, FOIA requests, and other sources. Your FPC team will be monitoring the situation closely. If anything changes we will let you know as soon as possible.

While I don’t believe Joe Biden has the cognitive ability to discern whether such measures are legal, I believe he will rubber-stamp any and all such attempts to restrict rights and rewrite both law and regulations. In other words, he will do as he is told.