By: José Niño
On June 13, 2023, the United States House of Representatives passed H.J. Resolution 44 by a vote margin of 219 to 210. The resolution would have scrapped a rule established by the ATF at the order of President Joe Biden. This order went into effect at the start of June and would impact millions of lawful gun owners. The vote took place on strongly partisan lines, only two Republicans voted for it and two Democrats voted against it.
The Federal Registry published the ATF’s stabilizer brace rule on January 31, 2023. The ATF’s rule noted the following:
This rule is effective the date it is published in the Federal Register. Any weapons with “stabilizing braces” or similar attachments that constitute rifles under the NFA must be registered no later than 120 days after date of publication in the Federal Register; or the short barrel removed and a 16-inch or longer rifle barrel attached to the firearm; or permanently remove and dispose of, or alter, the “stabilizing brace” such that it cannot be reattached; or the firearm is turned in to your local ATF office. Or the firearm is destroyed.
This resolution went over to the US Senate to be voted on June 22. Ultimately, the resolution to block the ATF regulation failed after Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) voted against the resolution. All three senators represent red states with strong gun cultures.
The resolution died by a vote of 50-49.
With the resolution apparently dead, there are two other options for upending the ATF regulation: having the enforcement of the rule defunded in appropriations or having the courts rule against this regulation.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) told Breitbart News that she would continue fighting this ATF rule:
“I will continue to stand against President Biden’s rule that turns law-abiding gun owners into felons, even as Senate Democrats caved to the Biden administration’s far left anti-gun agenda. Many Americans, including disabled veterans, rely on these braces to use their firearms, and it is critical their Constitutional Second Amendment rights are fully protected.”
In a similar vein, Dudley Brown, the President of the National Association for Gun Rights, expressed his disappointment with the defeat of this anti-ATF resolution:
“The Senate had the opportunity to do the right thing and strike down an ATF rule that reverses 10 years of precedence. For 10 years pistol brace owners were compliant with the ATF’s direction. And in the blink of an eye, ATF bureaucrats changed their minds creating millions of felons, all without an Act of Congress. The National Association for Gun Rights continues to challenge the Pistol Brace Ban in court. We will keep up the fight. The lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans are at stake.”
While the defeat of this resolution is disappointing, this is a good first step in discrediting the ATF. Unconstitutional agencies like the ATF aren’t going to have their powers diminished overnight. It’s going to take long-term political campaigns to fully discredit and debilitate these institutions. Hopefully, Republicans continue carrying this anti-ATF momentum moving forward.
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.