The Second Amendment’s long-cherished right to keep and bear arms is currently being challenged. The Biden administration has proposed a new rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that would severely restrict gun owners’ access to weapons in coordination with its Democratic partners. In order to comply with the National Firearms Act, this rule would effectively require owners of pistol stabilizing braces to treat their weapons as short-barreled rifles (NFA).
The results of this decision could be disastrous for law-abiding gun owners in America. Given how ATF Form 1s for short-barreled rifles are authorized, Stephen Stamboulieh, a lawyer who specializes in weapons law, believes that this idea might result in a nightmare for law enforcement. According to Stamboulieh, if a background check is pending for 88 days or more, it is immediately denied, which makes it difficult for ATF to process the millions of applications that come in every day.
For gun owners who attempt to register their weapons or surrender them in order to avoid difficulty, this new ruling may have deadly repercussions. Stamboulieh claims that anyone attempting to register their brace will be subject to “armed raids” by federal investigators who are looking for information on any possible illicit behavior connected to the brace owner. As a result, there is a risk that law-abiding gun owners who have done nothing wrong could end up in danger.
It makes sense that President Biden and the Democrats would support stronger gun ownership laws at a time when gun violence still affects communities around the nation. Nevertheless, given that there is no proof that pistol stabilizing braces are being utilized in criminal activity, this new proposal appears to be driven more by politics than by the need to ensure public safety. In reality, the majority of bracing handguns are held by law-abiding individuals who exclusively use them for target practice and other legal purposes.
Because they tried to register a piston stabilizing brace as required by law, American individuals shouldn’t have to fear being raided by federal officials. Additionally, by placing these owners of pistol braces into an arbitrary classification with short-barreled rifles, they run the prospect of being accused of crimes they may not even be aware of, just for trying to follow the law. As a result, it’s crucial that Democrats and Republicans work together to find reasonable solutions that safeguard both public safety and the Second Amendment rights of people who own guns responsibly.
