Following a contentious ruling that enforces limits on pistol-stabilizing braces, Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a bill to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
License Required for Stabilization Attachments
The National Firearms Act requires a federal license to possess short-barreled rifles, which have stabilization attachments, according to the ATF’s final regulation, which was published on Friday.
Gaetz argued the decision penalizes disabled firearm owners and veterans who depend on stabilizing braces to be able to shoot with one hand, despite Attorney General Merrick Garland’s assertion that the decision improves public safety.
In reaction to the decision, Gaetz submitted H.R. 374, the “Abolish the ATF Act,” on Tuesday morning, informing Fox News Digital that it was the last straw.
In a teleconference on Wednesday morning, Gaetz added he has a lot of disabled veterans in his area who like pistol shooting and depend on stabilizing braces to be able to take part in the pastime.
The ATF’s latest moves essentially permit them to decide on a case-by-case basis whether a handgun with a stabilizing brace is permissible or if it is illegal.
House Republicans have the ATF in our crosshairs.
The continued existence of the ATF is increasingly unwarranted based on their repeated actions to convert law-abiding citizens into felons.
My bill today would abolish the ATF once and for all.https://t.co/yIwkTGZhiY
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 18, 2023
According to the efforts the ATF is taking to turn otherwise law-abiding citizens into felons, the persistence of the ATF is becoming unnecessary, according to Gaetz. The ATF would be eliminated under his bill.
They are going to try defunding the ATF if this does not work. If that does not work, he’ll focus on the specific ATF officials at the top who have gone beyond their scope when it comes to rulemaking.
Gaetz said if that is unsuccessful, he’ll use a butcher cleaver to attack the laws that the ATF claims widely permit its operations.
Matt Gaetz introduces Abolish ATF Acthttps://t.co/uMJgyvLpKe
— Bearing Arms (@BearingArmsCom) January 19, 2023
The ATF claims the new regulation does not apply to stabilizing braces that are objectively created and intended to be used as a “stabilizing brace” for people with disabilities, not to be carried as a rifle.
Such stabilizing braces are made to fit the arm rather than serve as a buttstock. Short-barreled rifles, on the other hand, must be registered within 120 days after the date of publishing in the Federal Register if they are equipped with a stabilizing brace.
Gaetz asserted the ATF individuals writing these guidelines essentially don’t understand guns, though.
Gaetz Has No Cosponsors
They believe incorrectly that a stabilizing brace improves the effectiveness or danger of a gun, the congressman claimed. It appears the ATF is looking for regulatory actions that will send moral signals to the anti-gun left, but have no real practical influence on American safety.
There are currently no cosponsors for Gaetz’s bill, which has been forwarded to the Judiciary Committee, but he claimed Republicans have “wide support” to “go after the acts of ATF.”
This article appeared in The Patriot Brief and has been published here with permission.
