GOA and Texas AG Take ATF to Court Over Pistol Brace Rule

Headlines from around the country after GOA and Texas file suit against ATF Pistol Brace Rule


Exclusive: Gun Owners of America, Texas AG Filing Suit Against ATF Pistol Brace Rule

Breitbart, February 9, 2023

Gun Owners of America (GOA), the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are filing suit Thursday against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF’s) pistol brace rule.

Breitbart News reported that the ATF pistol brace rule places pistol stabilizer braces under the auspices of the National Firearms Act (NFA).

The rule was published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2023, giving owners of said braces 120 days to take one of the five following actions:

• Turn in the entire firearm with the attached “stabilizing brace” to ATF;
• Destroy the whole firearm;
• Convert the short-barreled rifle into a long-barreled rifle;
• Apply to register the weapon under the NFA; or
• Permanently remove and dispose of, or alter, the “stabilizing brace” from the firearm so that it cannot be reattached.

Breitbart News noted the ATF pistol brace rule portends the registration of millions of firearms.

GOA, GOF, and Texas AG Paxton are filing suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Thursday…

GOA’s senior vice president, Erich Pratt, commented on the suit, saying, “Millions of Americans are facing a very tight deadline to destroy or register their lawfully owned property under this draconian new rule. We hope the court will hear the pleas of gun owners across the country who will be irrevocably harmed by this rule, and GOA stands ready to fight it at every turn.”

GOF’s Sam Paredes noted, “This rule will have some of the most wide-reaching impacts nationwide in the tyrannical history of gun control. We the People will not tolerate this abuse.”…

Read more at Breitbart


Second Amendment Advocacy Groups, State Attorneys General Take on the ATF Over Pistol Brace

Epoch Times, February 10, 2023

Two gun rights organizations are supporting separate lawsuits over the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule on pistol stabilizing braces…

The rule set a May 31, 2023, deadline for owners to register, destroy, or turn in their newly outlawed weapons. The rule waives any taxes or fees for registering the guns during the so-called “amnesty period.”…

GOA and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) announced a partnership with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in suing the ATF over its rule.

GOA announced on its website that it had joined Paxton and the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) in suing the ATF, ATF Director Steven Dettelbach, and the U.S. Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The 152-page filing takes the ATF rule apart explaining why the GOA believes the rule is unconstitutional.

GOA has been a vocal critic of the ATF and the pistol brace rule. In previous statements GOA leaders have said the rule is a backdoor method of building an unconstitutional gun registry. In a statement on the GOA website, GOA senior vice president Erich Pratt said his organization will not stand for what it considers an infringement on Second Amendment freedoms.

“Millions of Americans are facing a very tight deadline to destroy or register their lawfully owned property under this draconian new rule. We hope the court will hear the pleas of gun owners across the country who will be irrevocably harmed by this rule, and GOA stands ready to fight it at every turn,” Pratt’s statement reads.

The number of Americans impacted by the new rule is difficult to determine. The ATF estimates that 3 million pistol braces have been sold. The GOA and other Second Amendment advocates put the number closer to 40 million.

“This is yet another attempt by the Biden Administration to create a workaround to the U.S. Constitution and expand gun registration in America. There is absolutely no legal basis for ATF’s haphazard decision to try to change the long-standing classification for stabilizing braces, force registration on Americans, and then throw them in jail for 10 years if they don’t quickly comply,” Paxton said on the GOA website.

Read more at the Epoch Times

Gun Rights groups vow to fight back as ATF pistol brace rule takes effect

Fox News, January 31, 2023

Gun rights groups slammed a Biden administration rule that forces gun owners to register any weapons with “stabling braces,” including pistols.

Owners of these gun braces must register them within 120 days since the rule went into effect on Jan. 31 or face possible felony charges. The rule is being enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), but faces legal challenges from pro-Second Amendment groups…

Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of the Gun Owners of America, said the ATF rule marks a historic overreach of the Second Amendment.

“Tens of million Americans are facing felony charges if they fail to comply with this executive fiat from the Biden Administration,” Pratt said. “This is the biggest gun grab in the history of our country, and we are fully committed to fighting this executive order at every turn.”

Read more at Fox News