The Biden administration is proposing a revision to current federal gun regulations that would create a dangerous scenario for many firearm owners.
The proposed rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would make the majority of firearms with stabilizing pistol braces illegal, The Reload reported.
“Owners would have to register, turn in, or disassemble the guns to avoid federal felony charges,” according to The Reload.
Stabilizing brace inventor Alex Bosco called it “the largest gun registration, destruction, and confiscation scheme in American history.”
The braces make it easier to use firearms with increased accuracy and with one hand.
They have been allowed in the U.S. since 2012, but have come under scrutiny due to their use in mass shootings. One was used in the Boulder, Colorado, supermarket shooting in March, which resulted in 10 deaths.
The ATF only lists two crimes committed with the braces.
“While there are no available statistics to gauge authoritatively the number of stabilizing braces already made and sold in the United States, unofficial estimates suggest that there are between 10 and 40 million stabilizing braces and similar components already in civilian hands,” a Congressional Research Service report from April said.
“Altering the classification of firearms equipped with stabilizing braces would likely affect millions of owners,” it added.
The proposal aligns with the White House’s previously outlined goals for gun control.
“We want to treat pistols modified with stabilizing braces with the seriousness they deserve. A stabilizing brace … essentially, it makes that pistol a hell of a lot more accurate and a mini-rifle,” President Joe Biden said in April.
“As a result, it’s more lethal, effectively turning into a short-barreled rifle. That’s what the alleged shooter in Boulder appears to have done.”
“These modifications to firearms that make them more lethal should be subject to the National Firearms Act.”⁰⁰Biden discusses tightening regulations on pistol-stabilizing braces https://t.co/bBjgHd1KtB pic.twitter.com/s3LAosdNWL
— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) April 8, 2021
While the Biden administration would like to spin this as a crackdown on gun violence, the end result will be to incriminate law-abiding Americans.
PSA: If you commented in December 2020:👀
This proposed rule is a separate action.
No comments received under the withdrawn notice were considered for this proposed rule.
[Gun owners] will need to submit new comments in connection with this proposed rule‼️
— Aidan Johnston (@RealGunLobbyist) June 8, 2021
This proposal is laughable in terms of enforcement.
The ATF may be able to stop the legal sale of stabilizing braces in the future, but this would only put them on the black market for bad actors to seek out.
The president and his bureaucratic pals are proving once again that they are willing to target Americans’ personal property in order to further their gun control agenda.
