In late March, a Texas court enjoined the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) “pistol brace rule” from taking effect against NRA members. The legal win prevents the federal government from enforcing the rule against NRA members while the order remains in effect.
The NRA filed suit in the Northern District of Texas on July 3, 2023, against the ATF, the U.S. Department of Justice and Steven M. Dettelbach, in his official capacity as director of ATF, seeking to enjoin the ATF’s unconstitutional rule, which would have reversed its long-standing position that pistol braces do not transform pistols into rifles subject to onerous registration and taxation requirements under the National Firearms Act.
The legal win protects millions of NRA members across the nation who seek to use a pistol brace to safely use a firearm, including many lawful gun owners with disabilities. The ATF’s unconstitutional rule would have reversed its long-standing position that pistol braces do not transform pistols into rifles subject to onerous registration and taxation requirements under the National Firearms Act.
As explained in the NRA’s complaint, many of its members were being irreparably harmed by the Final Rule, because under the rule they are forced to modify their firearms, destroy them, register them or surrender them to the federal government under threat of criminal prosecution. Pistol braces allow users to strap their gun to their forearm for more stability. Millions of these devices are used by gun owners across the nation—particularly disabled veterans who need braces to safely use a pistol.
Stay tuned for more updates on the legal challenges to this, and others, of Biden’s bureaucratic assaults on the Second Amendment.
