Fed up with the continued enforcement of a vacated Biden-era DOJ final rule defining braced pistols as short-barreled rifles (SBRs) regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA), 13 U.S. Senators have sent a fiery letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) demanding the government stop enforcing the rule.
Led by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, the letter, sent on April 15 to Acting Director Daniel Driscoll, reprimands the ATF for signaling in court cases that it will continue enforcement of the now-vacated 2023 Biden rule that classified all braced pistols as short-barrel rifles outlines the senators’ concerns about the ATF’s continued efforts to enforce the rule, which was vacated in August 2024.
“We write with deep concern regarding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) attempts to continue enforcing the legal theory behind its unconstitutional and since-vacated rule entitled: ‘Factoring Criteria for Firearms with an Attached Stabilizing Brace,’” the letter stated. “Issued by the Biden Administration in 2023, this Final Rule expanded the scope of the National Firearms Act (NFA) to include virtually all pistols equipped with stabilizing braces.”
The sticking point with the senators is the ATF’s unwillingness to back away from enforcing the final rule, even though it was vacated by the courts.
“In our view, this since-vacated Rule does not comply with the statute and cannot pass constitutional muster, and we urge ATF to cease any efforts to continue enforcing it either in substance or in form,” the letter continued. “Now, however, it appears that ATF has no intention of backing down. In another ongoing case brought by the State of Texas and Gun Owners of America (GOA), ATF suggests that it can and will continue enforcing the underlying legal theory behind the rule—that braced pistols qualify as short-barreled rifles under the NFA.”
In the letter, the lawmakers recommend several steps for ATF to take to protect the rights of pistol brace owners, including issuing an interpretive rule clarifying that firearms equipped with stabilizing braces do not qualify as short-barreled rifles. They also advocated using ongoing litigation to enter into a judicially enforceable consent agreement that would, among other things, permanently enjoin ATF from attempting to revive the Biden-era restrictions through new rulemaking.
“Stabilizing braces, like the handguns they modify, are neither dangerous nor unusual. They are owned by tens of millions of Americans who rely on these attachments to improve the stability of their handguns,” the senators wrote. “ATF must immediately provide clarity on this issue. Right now, millions of Americans continue to languish in uncertainty, fearing that they may be prosecuted simply for exercising their constitutional rights.”
Joining Sen. Cassidy in signing the letter were Republican U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Jim Justice of West Virginia, Mike Crapo and John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas, Steve Daines of Montana, Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven of North Dakota, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, James Risch of Idaho and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.
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