(RightWing.org) – Joe Biden squared off with gun rights supporters twice as a senator, spearheading the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act and a 10-year ban on assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines in the 1990s. As president, he issued multiple executive orders striking at the heart of the 2nd Amendment and signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law in 2022, expanding red flag laws and background checks. Most recently, his administration released a new gun rule.
On January 13, the Justice Department issued a press release announcing that it submitted a new rule to the Federal Register addressing the use of stabilizing braces and other accessories to allow users to shoulder-fire those weapons. In short, the DOJ will target devices that effectively convert pistols and other hand-held firearms into short-barreled rifles.
The #DOJ announced a new rule targeting pistol attachments known as “stabilizing braces,” the latest step in implementing President Biden’s desire to see tighter #GunControl. https://t.co/ZFaQSr8RG3
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) January 15, 2023
Under the new rule, individuals using those devices must fully comply with gun laws regulating short-barreled rifles as detailed by the National Firearms Act (NFA), defined as shoulder-fired rifles with a barrel less than 16 inches. For instance, the new rule requires additional taxation and background checks for transfers, including private ones.
The rule goes into effect at an unspecified date once the Federal Register publishes it. However, owners, dealers, and manufacturers of the modified firearms have 120 days to register any short-barreled rifles covered under the change. Otherwise, they must either remove the stabilizing device and return the weapon to a pistol or surrender it to the ATF.
Attorney General Merrick Garland praised the new measure, claiming that “keeping communities safe from gun violence” is a top DOJ priority. He also warned firearm owners, dealers, and manufacturers that they could not evade “important safety protections” by adding devices to “transform” pistols into short-barreled rifles.
The rule doesn’t ban the use of stabilizing braces not intended to modify a weapon to be fired from a shouldered position. Additionally, it doesn’t cover devices used by disabled individuals to stabilize a firearm.
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