Second Amendment activists and industry giants are imploring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to use his influence on the Department of Justice to scuttle a proposed firearms regulation that would banish a popular gun accessory known as a “pistol brace.”
In a phone call with McConnell’s office on Saturday, approximately 80 gun makers warned that a proposed ruling from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms could cost them nearly $2 billion in sales, according to several sources who participated in the call. National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre is scheduled to discuss the matter with President Donald Trump this week, and industry officials have raised the issue in conversations with senior White House officials.
The ATF’s ruling would classify guns with pistol braces as short-barrel rifles and require the owners to register them with the federal government. Pistol braces are attached to some guns and used to steady the user’s arm. The reclassification could criminalize between 3 and 4 million guns and prevent the industry from selling firearms that make up a sizable percentage of sales over the last decade.
Spokesmen for the NRA, McConnell, the White House, and the ATF did not respond to a request for comment.
The ATF first approved the use of forearm braces on AR-15 pistols in 2012 and has approved several more designs in the following years. The new guidance casts doubt on the legality of any gun equipped with a pistol brace and indicates that the ATF will determine their legality on a “case-by-case basis.” – READ MORE
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