Congressman Matt Gaetz announced today on his podcast he is sending a letter to the ATF demanding they cease any plans to restrict lawful possession of arm braces, which are pistol stabilizing accessories, by American citizens.
“We understand that ATF is currently considering restricting one arm brace model owned by over 700,000 Americans,” Congressman Gaetz writes along with six other members of Congress. “We strongly urge ATF to cease taking any actions and reconsider or rescind any secret determinations which call into question the legality of firearms owned by millions of law-abiding Americans.”
“There is always a need to vindicate our Second Amendment rights,” Gaetz says on his podcast, “Hot Takes with Matt Gaetz.”
He explains that even during very conservative administrations, like President Trump’s, some do “try to make it more difficult to acquire things that shooters need and gun owners need, for safety and for the unique circumstances that an individual may have.”
The congressman emphasizes that Americans must remain proactive in defense of their Second Amendment Rights.
“But now, what we find, is that the ATF is making it very difficult for people to have arm braces. They’re changing standards and changing rules.” Gaetz continues: “And I am particularly frustrated when our government, at the administrative and executive level, goes beyond their grant of authority in our Constitution and in our Federal Statutes. Nothing gives anyone at ATF the ability to constrain the use of arm braces.”
“So the breaking news is this – I’ll be sending a letter to the Department of Justice, asking for a review of the decisions made by ATF and asking that ATF stop, in this crazy effort to limit access to arm braces for people who seek to have them.”
Congressman Gaetz addresses Attorney General William Barr and Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Regina Lombardo in his letter, and says that he is concerned about the ATF’s practice of creating secret regulation, which could have devastating impacts on law-abiding citizens.
Gaetz and his colleagues pose three specific questions to the Attorney General and the Acting Director:
1. What specific criteria does ATF use to determine whether a firearm is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder?
2. What specific ATF publications are available for Americans to determine whether their firearm is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder?
3. How many firearms with affixed arm braces have been evaluated by the Firearms and Ammunition Technology Division in support of other law enforcement agencies or criminal prosecutions?
“This practice not only burdens the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding American citizens,” Gaetz concludes, “but has recently been used by ATF to stifle innovation within the firearms industry and prosecute unwitting firearm owners.”
