On Monday, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) proposed a rule that would define a handgun fitted with a stabilizing pistol brace as a short-barrelled rifle. According to several gun-rights groups and firearm manufacturers, the proposed rule, made at the request of President Joe Biden, would affect millions of gun owners.
Under the National Firearms Act, the rule would make most handguns equipped with stabilizing braces illegal. If owners of the modified firearms do not forfeit, disassemble, or register their weapons, they could be committing a felony.
According to the Congressional Research Service, a research institute that provides congress with statistics, there are an estimated 10 – 40 million stabilizing braces currently owned by Americans.
“When individuals use accessories to convert pistols into short-barreled rifles, they must comply with the heightened regulations on those dangerous and easily concealable weapons,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated after the proposed rule’s unveiling.
Alex Bosco, the inventor of the stabilizing brace, told ‘The Reload’ that “it will be the largest gun registration, destruction, and confiscation scheme in American history.”
