Naples Standard

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) joins those celebrating as the House narrowly approves vote on H.J.Res.44 which blocks the ATF requirement to register all guns with attached stabilizing braces.

"Have you ever seen a pistol brace?," the congressman tweeted. "It is a plastic accessory allowing those with arm injuries to utilize their 2A rights. The ATF pistol brace rule which has made millions overnight felons is a gross violation of separation of powers. Proud to have voted to nullify this rule.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) passed a rule in January of 2023 regulated pistols with stabilizing braces that would require them to be registered as short barrel rifles, a heavily regulated form of firearm, the Washington Examiner reported. This was one of many gun regulations that came out of the Biden Administration after a 2021 mass shooting event that spurred the creation of control strategies. When it was finalized by the ATF on January 31st, they gave a deadline of May 31st for all gun owners who had a pistol with such a brace to register their firearm, not required for pistol, the story said. If they did not, they could face up to 10 years in prison or a $10,000 fine with the felony charge.

There was huge backlash on such this regulation, with many firearms groups and Republican legislators calling the rule unconstitutional and an infringement of citizens’ rights, Fox News reported. Many also cited the number of veterans or those with disabilities who use such additions to be able to use their firearms. The Biden Administration claimed such braces were too dangerous and too often used in mass shootings to continue unregulated. The rule faced a lot of opposition and blocks along the way, with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocking the rule in May, Fox said.

The ATF published the rule, saying it had amended the definition of a rifle to say “that the term 'designed, redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder' includes a weapon that is equipped with an accessory, component, or other rearward attachment (e.g., a 'stabilizing brace”' that provides surface area that allows the weapon to be fired from the shoulder, provided other factors, as listed in the definition, indicate the weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder.”

The agency said that other braces meant to aid in disability use would not fall under this category.

U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) introduced H.J.Res.44 in March as legislation to oppose and counteract the ATF’s rule. The resolution “nullifies the rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives titled Factoring Criteria for Firearms With Attached ‘Stabilizing Braces.’” The resolution passed as a joint bill in the House on June 13, with a vote of 219-210 in favor.

"The ATF, more than a decade ago, allowed that brace to be sold in the US," Donalds said in a speech posted to Twitter, explaining what the braces are meant for. "And now, we have the same ATF who is deciding unilaterally, to go back and say that that brace now needs to be registered and if you don't register it, you are a felon in the United States. If that is not a gross violation of separation of powers, I don't know what is!"