Attached 'pistol braces' face registration deadline

May 31—On June 1, "pistol braces," or attached stabilizing braces, may be illegal unless registered if a national delay in implementing the rule is not approved.

A battle is being fought on two major fronts to at least postpone that pistol brace deadline.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has joined a coalition of 27 attorneys general in trying to urge the House to vote on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) to stop the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) final rule on pistol braces.

The coalition sent a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Thursday on the CRA resolution for the final rule, Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces, urging the scheduling of a vote early "enough to complete the CRA process before the rule's May 31, 2023, registration deadline."

"The ATF's new rule is illegal and an extreme overreach of government power," the letter said. "Overnight, hundreds of thousands of legal gun owners will be suddenly breaking the law, subject to heavy fines and penalties. Congress must act and protect our Second Amendment Rights ... Although we generally defer to you (McCarthy) on the schedule of the House, this issue is pressing and demands immediate action."

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has also been part of the fight to stop the final rule. He led a coalition of 25 states and others in challenging the rule as unlawful, arbitrary and capricious. The coalition's motion to preliminarily enjoin the rule remains pending.

Miyares said stabilizing braces were designed to help people with disabilities use pistols. Since then, many others, including older persons, people with limited mobility and those with smaller stature have come to use the braces. For more than a decade, these braces have been sold as firearms attachments not subject to regulation.

The Biden administration accused the gun industry of attempting to circumvent federal regulations by selling stabilizing braces, which, they claim, can "essentially convert a pistol into a short-barreled rifle."

The rule, however, affects most owners of combinations of stabilizing braces and pistols and handgun owners—many lawful gun owners use stabilizers to prevent some recoil when using firearms and to help with accuracy, Miyares said. An estimated 10 to 40 million pistols with stabilizing braces are presently in circulation nationwide, and the ATF's rule requires nearly all of them to be registered with the federal government by May 31.

The consequences for those that choose not to register their firearm with a stabilizing brace and keep it include up to 10 years' imprisonment or $10,000 in fines or both, according to ATF.

But the NRA (National Rifle Association) and the Gun Owners of America (GOA) have also filed lawsuits trying to stop the AFT's final rule on pistol braces.

Jerry Cochran, owner of Trader Jerry's gun store at Claypool Hill in Tazewell County, said he took all the pistol braces off his shelves Jan. 1 when it was clear what the AFT was planning to do.

"They were originally designed for the handicapped so they can hold it with one hand," he said, but the classification was changed to a "short-barreled rifle" since the brace allows the shooter to put the stock against the shoulder.

That reclassification meant heavier regulation from Congress because the braces make the pistol more accurate and easy to conceal.

Cochran said if people have a pistol brace and want to keep them attached, as of right now, they can register them free and avoid a $200 fee.

He said he doesn't get involved in "gray areas" of firearms and has never sold bump stocks, which were made illegal in 2019.

But Cochran, who has been in business for 44 years, said he also knows how things can change and a lot of misinformation can spread, especially when something is politicized.

"We have survived the ups and downs..." he said of the firearms business and dealing with regulations, and sometimes "common sense" can prevail in decisions related to firearms, even on the federal level.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com