U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) joined Senators John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and more than 40 Republican senators in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to prevent the Biden Administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from enforcing an anti-Second Amendment pistol brace rule.
The rule, titled Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces, would reclassify pistols as short-barreled rifles if they have a stabilizing brace attachment, even though many disabled veterans and other Americans rely on these braces to use their firearms. Under this rule, otherwise lawful gun owners could face up to 10 years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines if they fail to register pistols with stabilizing braces with the ATF. If gun owners do not register their firearms, they would have to destroy the firearm, surrender their firearm to the ATF or remove the brace in such a way that it cannot be reattached.
“The Biden Administration’s recent stabilizing brace rule is blatant overreach of ATF’s rulemaking authority—adding burdensome regulations on law-abiding gun owners without actually doing anything to make our communities safer. The Administration should focus on cracking down on violent crime, not punishing law-abiding Americans,” said Senator Romney.
“Millions of law-abiding Americans use pistol braces, and many of those Americans rely on braces because they are disabled. If Congress doesn’t correct the ATF’s misguided rule, countless law-abiding gunowners in Louisiana and other states will become criminals in the blink of an eye. The Biden administration’s assault on the Second Amendment isn’t going to stop unless we defend this fundamental liberty,” said Senator Kennedy.
“The Biden administration’s war on every American’s fundamental right to bear arms is relentless and an offense to our founders. Congress must use every tool at its disposal to stop the Biden ATF from enacting this unconstitutional gun grab and creating its newly proposed anti-2nd Amendment gun registry. The Congressional Review Act is one of those important tools and I’m pleased to co-lead this effort with Senator Kennedy,” said Senator Marshall.
Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Rand Paul (R-KY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dan Sullivan (R-OH), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Mike Braun (R-IN), Todd Young (R-IN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ted Budd (R-NC), Katie Britt (R-AL), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Thune (R-SD), John Barrasso (R-WY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Rick Scott (R-FL), Jim Risch (R-ID), James Lankford (R-OK), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Steve Daines (R-MT), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) also cosponsored the legislation.
In 2012, the Obama-Biden Administration’s ATF determined that pistol-brace attachments do not change the classification of a pistol to that of a rifle. Despite this, the Biden Administration in 2021 directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to propose a rule that clarifies when a pistol with a brace attachment should be designated as a rifle. Earlier this year, the DOJ announced the “stabilizing braces” final rule. Full text of the CRA resolution is available here.
