Little Apple Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On June 13, 2023, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) voted yes on H.J.Res.44, blocking President Biden’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms’ (ATF) rule that expands enforcement over pistol braces. Specifically, the rule classifies a firearm with a stabilizing brace as a short-barreled rifle subject to regulation under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) and the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).

“This rule is an attack on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens,” said Rep. Mann. “The Second Amendment is a load-bearing wall in our system of rights. If you weaken it, the whole structure is compromised. When federal government overreach directly flies in the face of our constitutional rights as Americans, we must stand up and fight back. This resolution sends a strong message to the Biden Administration – House Republicans will not remain silent while the Second Amendment is dismantled.”

In January, ATF released their rule to reclassify millions of commonly owned pistols with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles and shotguns. The rule went into effect on January 31, 2023, requiring that any weapon with a “stabilizing brace” or a similar attachment must be registered by May 31, 2023, or the firearm owner would face felony charges.

The ATF’s rule contradicts its prior 2012 determination, made during the Obama Administration—on which law-abiding firearm owners relied for a decade—that a firearm equipped with a stabilizing brace would not be subject to NFA controls.

H.J. Res. 44 would overturn the Biden Administration’s rule and prevent it from having any force or effect.

H.J. Res. 44 passed in the U.S. House by a vote of 219 to 210 and has been sent to the U.S. Senate for further review.

Original source can be found here.