Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has sent its new proposed set rules surrounding pistol braces to the White House ahead of publishing the proposed regulations on unfinished frames and receivers.
The new rules surrounding unfinished frames and receivers are due to be published in the Federal Registry tomorrow for a public comment period. The comment period will be open for 90 days. Last December, gun owners pushed back against the proposed regulations on pistol braces, causing the ATF to pull the new set rules. With the Biden administration’s push for more gun control, it will take a monumental effort by gun owners to sway the tide against the new regulations.
A Biden executive action gave the ATF 30 days to develop new rules and regulations on unfinished frames and receivers. In his press conference, Biden referred to the items as “ghost guns” and tried to insinuate that companies market the kits to criminals.
In reality, only a small percentage of completed firearms made from these kits are used in crimes. Most guns used in crimes are stolen.
Another executive action Biden took during the same press conference was to give the ATF 60 days to develop new rules and regulations about pistol stabilizing braces. It looks like the ATF provided the Whitehouse with a preview of the new rules on May 17. The ATF has wanted to take action on pistol braces for a while. When the Biden transition team asked the ATF for a “want list.” The agency’s leadership team said their main concerns were pistol braces and homemade firearms.
Many expect the rules to look like the ATF regulations submitted to the Federal Registry last December. Those regulations would make any stabilizing brace based on a stock design a shouldering device. That would mean any pistol with a barrel under 16 inches equipped with the device would become a short-barreled rifle (SBR) and be subjected to the NFA.
The regulations did say the ATF would waive the $200 fee for a tax stamp on the newly created SBR, but that would mean the gun owner would have to go through the lengthy and confusing process of applying for a tax stamp. The newly created rifle would also be registered with the ATF. That registration is something many gun owners will refuse to do.
The new ATF rules on unfinished frames and receivers will hurt the market. It will vastly expand the definition of readily convertible to anything that can be finished in eight hours in a fully equipped machine shop. Almost all unfinished frames and receivers will require a background check to transfer.
The regulation aims to kill off the market for unfinished frames and receivers and shut down the companies that produce these kits. Gun rights groups see this as a way Biden is trying to get around the Congressional blockage of gun control measures the same way the government agency changed the classification of bump stocks. They believe that the ATF is basically creating gun laws which it does not have the authority to do. These groups plan to challenge any new regulations against new rules against unfinished frames and receivers.
The Federal Registry will open the comment period on unfinished frames and receivers as soon as the new rules are published. AmmoLand encourages its readers to submit well-thought-out comments. Once we obtain a copy of the pistol brace rule, we will publish it for our readers to review.
Once the comment period begins, readers can file comments at the following link.