By: José Niño

President Joe Biden recently announced that he has plans of vetoing H.J. Res. 44, the resolution that intends to block the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) AR-pistol stabilizer brace regulation.

According to a report by Breitbart, the ATF’s new regulation now designates AR-pistols with stabilizer braces as short-barrel rifles. It’s often forgotten that short barrel rifles must be registered in accordance with the provisions set forth by the National Firearms Act of 1934. As a result, AR-pistol owners with stabilizer braces must either register the modified firearms with the ATF or take one of the four following steps:

  • Turn in the entire firearm with the attached “stabilizing brace” to the ATF;
  • Destroy the entire firearm;
  • Turn the short-barreled rifle into a long-barreled rifle;
  • Permanently take off and get rid of, change, the “stabilizing brace” attached to the firearm so that it cannot be attached again.

In response to the newly enacted ATF regulation, Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) put forward H.J. Res. 44, which would prevent the enforcement of this regulation.

The House still hasn’t voted on Clyde’s resolution, but Biden has made it clear that he will veto the resolution if it arrives on his desk.

According to a report by The Hill, the White House laid out its hostile position towards Clyde’s reform in an official statement: “Even though Congressional Republicans should take additional action to keep these and other dangerous weapons off our streets, they are instead pushing a resolution to reverse this rule and the progress we have made to enforce existing statutory requirements on these dangerous weapons.”

The statement added, “The rationale is clear: short-barreled rifles are more concealable than long guns, yet more dangerous and accurate at a distance than traditional pistols.”

Dudley Brown, the president of the National Association for Gun Rights, shared his thoughts on Clyde’s resolution to limit the ATF’s ability to infringe on the right to bear arms:

“Biden’s threat to veto a lawful resolution defending a Second Amendment right is sick, but not out of character. He will do anything to undermine gun rights and further his lifelong gun control agenda. This resolution doesn’t just defend the Second Amendment, it calls out the executive branch’s flagrant abuse of its rulemaking authority. That is something Joe can’t abide.”

Pro-Second Amendment journalist David Codrea shared his two cents on the matter:

“It’s no surprise that The White House has threatened to veto the House resolution on pistol braces. The prohibitionists are all about control and they’re not too particular on what they have to do or what parts of the Constitution they have to trample to do it. That said, was there ever any doubt that it was anything but symbolic? Let’s see what the Republicans do if they keep the House and regain the Senate and the White House, that is, if they don’t blow it. Because last time they had the planets aligned like that, then-Speaker Paul Ryan begged off on concealed carry reciprocity with the wholly unconvincing excuse that the timing wasn’t right.”

Resisting the ATF is a no-brainer. It’s an unconstitutional government agency that seeks to harass and harm lawful gun owners. Blocking the ATF’s ability to enforce new gun control regulations is a good start.

However, the ultimate goal for gun rights activists is to undermine and eventually abolish the ATF. The ATF’s continued existence is a clear and present danger to gun rights in America.

José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.