CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is criticizing the Department of Justice’s release of a final rule governing pistol stabilizing braces.
The final rule says when manufacturers, dealers and individuals use stabilizing braces to convert pistols into rifles with a barrel of less than 16 inches—commonly referred to as a short-barreled rifles—they must comply with the laws that regulate those rifles, including the National Firearms Act.
“Biden’s gun-grabber-in-chief, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director Steven Dettelbach, has finalized an egregious final rule turning millions of common firearms accessories into ‘short barreled rifles,'" Morrisey said. "This is a completely nonsensical regulation. We are taking a very close look at the rule and evaluating our legal options.
Morrisey
“We should not be making it harder for senior citizens and people with disabilities to defend themselves. I will continue stand up for the Second Amendment rights of all West Virginians."
In a February 13 press release, the DOJ said it submitted its rule to the Federal Register, clarifying that manufacturers, dealers and individuals must comply with laws regulating rifles when they use stabilizing braces to convert pistols to rifles with a barrel of less than 16 inches. It also says Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the ATF to address stabilizing braces in April 2021.
“Almost a century ago, Congress determined that short-barreled rifles must be subject to heightened requirements,” Garland said. “Today’s rule makes clear that firearm manufacturers, dealers, and individuals cannot evade these important public safety protections simply by adding accessories to pistols that transform them into short-barreled rifles.”
The release states the National Firearms Act has placed certain restrictions on short-barreled rifles since the 1930s because they are easier to conceal than long-barreled rifles and have more destructive power than traditional handguns.
The increased requirements include background checks for all transfers and additional taxation.
“This rule enhances public safety and prevents people from circumventing the laws Congress passed almost a century ago,” Dettelbach said. “In the days of Al Capone, Congress said back then that short-barreled rifles and sawed-off shotguns should be subjected to greater legal requirements than most other guns.”
Dettelbach said the stabilizing braces are designed to attach to a pistol to convert it to a short-barreled rifle to be fired from the shoulder.
The release states that the rule allows a 120-day period for manufacturers, dealers and individuals to register any existing short-barreled rifles covered by the rule tax-free. They also can remove the stabilizing brace to restore the firearm to be a pistol, or turn over the converted short-barreled rifles to the ATF.