Ammoland Inc. Posted on April 12, 2021 by Rob Pincus
President Biden announced last week that he is, officially, seeking action from the BATFE to restrict pistol braces in some significant way.
Pistol braces have been a constantly controversial accessory since Sig Sauer made them mainstream with their SB-15 Brace at SHOT Show in 2014. The brace concept was originally developed by Alex Bosco, founder of SB Tactical. A good summary of the early history of the devices and a reminder of how quickly they become an area of confusion because of ATF ineptitude can be found in this article from 2015 by AmmoLand News’ own Christian Lowe. More than anything else, the lack of clarity around pistol braces, combined with the unreasonable burdens created by the National Firearms Act, create the circumstances under which significant restrictions could too easily be applied.
The 2AO Second Amendment Organization has long held a position that the lack of clarity around many laws and regulations from the BATFE makes it almost impossible for many in the firearms community to be confident that they are in compliance in several areas. We believe that responsible gun owners overwhelmingly act in good faith with the intention of following regulations and laws, even as our community pushes to have unconstitutional restrictions rescinded. This leads to many gun owners being intimidated away from exercising their rights because of concern about these gray areas. Gun Making, Traveling with Firearms, and exactly who needs to be a Federally Licensed Dealer are examples. We address several of the areas where more clarity is needed in our 2AO Position Statements. Note that “seeking clarity†in regard to an existing restriction does not mean that we find the restriction itself acceptable or appropriate. We need to do more than simply say “shall not be infringed!†when confronted with incremental restrictions… we are a long way from universal gun freedom in this country and it will take work to get there. That work involves clarifying and cleaning up existing laws, using new laws to protect rights (e.g.- Hearing Protection Act or a National Right to Carry), and, of course, doing away with unconstitutional infringements entirely when possible.
One area of regulation that exemplifies the need for clarity and protection of rights is pistol braces.
I believe it is very likely that Biden’s call for action will simply result in the BATFE renewing its interest in moving pistol braces under NFA Restrictions. For many people, the BATFE Notice that went out in December of 2020 in regard to a possible change in their position on privately owned braced pistols was a real wake-up call. Fundamentally, the ATF was, and probably still is, contemplating a change in enforcement of existing regulations that would essential subject private owners to the same scrutiny as manufacturers who have been selling braced pistols as complete firearms. Originally, braces were only sold as aftermarket accessories. After some back and forth about their legality and their use… and whether or not the latter affected the former… ATF basically took the position that they were not going to get into the details of how a private gun owner used a brace. So long as it was manufactured in a way that it could be used to stabilize a pistol while shooting one-handed, with the pistol extended from the body as any other pistol would be. The requirements included that the brace itself could be strapped to the shooter’s arm as a clear indication that the design intent was within the intended parameters. If this already seems confusing: It is. GunWebsites recently created a timeline of the convoluted history of non-NFA Pistol Braces HERE.
More:
https://www.ammoland.com/2021/04/struggle-over-firearms-pistol-braces-continues/#axzz6rmAZW84Hhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWnT3qL4XFA
