Military Vets Take Biden Administration to Court Over New Gun Restriction

New rule requires pistol owners who attach’stabilizing bracket’ accessories to register their firearm as a “short-barrel weapon” A gun store located in Utah / Getty images

A group of veterans of the military are suing the Biden administration for a new gun rule they claim dramatically expands their definition of “gun control”. “rifle” According to a federal court complaint filed Tuesday morning, certain pistols were included in the lawsuit, which could lead to criminal liability for millions of gun-owners.

The lawsuit is one of the first legal challenges to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms’s new rule, which was also posted on Tuesday, that requires owners of pistols who attach “stabilizing brace” Accessory to register the firearm “short-barrel rifle” abide by the regulations and taxes of the National Firearms Act. This includes listing the pistol, and the owner’s name and address, in a national database, according to the suit.

The lawsuit asked for a court to stop the new regulation. They argued that the ATF rule was invalid. “arbitrary, capricious,” And “invalid.”

The complaint noted that the agency has publicly stated for years that stabilizing braces—an accessory that can be attached to a pistol to improve shooting accuracy—do not turn firearms into rifles. Gun rights advocates claim that accessories brace the pistol to its forearm, and don’t allow shooters the ability to fire from the shoulder as a rifle.

Lawyers for Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit on behalf three military veterans. “bureaucratic fiat,” It was said. “usurps congressional authority by significantly expanding the definition of ‘rifle’ under federal law and, with it, imposes potential criminal liability on millions of Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights,” According to the complaint.

The rule change is a shift from the ATF’s position on the issue. The classification letter that the agency published in 2012 stated that a stabilizing brace is necessary. “does not convert that weapon to be fired from the shoulder and would not alter the classification of a pistol or other firearm.”

The ATF has supported the rule change with two mass shootings that were perpetrated by individuals using stabilizing braces equipped pistols. ATF claimed that U.S. citizens own between 3 and 7 million stabilizing arms and that one could not conclude that stabilizing braces are illegal.