Gun rights groups are setting their sights on the Biden administration rule that forces firearm owners to register any weapons with “stabling braces,” calling it a “war against lawful gun owners,” according to the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
At least two lawsuits from separate Texas-based policy groups have been filed since the 98-page rule went into effect on Jan. 31, which requires gun owners that use stabling braces to register their weapons within 120 days or face potential felony charges. The rule is being enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and sparked backlash from Republican lawmakers and Second Amendment advocates.
“Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation challenged the Biden Administration’s continuing war against lawful gun owners,” the group wrote in a press release for the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Autumn Patterson, a senior attorney at TPPF, said, “The Constitution gives Congress—not unelected bureaucrats—the legislative power to amend laws” in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
ATF DOWNPLAYS IMPACT OF NEW GUN RULING, EXPECTS 60% TO REGISTER AR ‘PISTOLS’
“A decision to make the possession of commonly used pistols a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison is a paradigmatic example of a core legislative power that cannot be delegated under our constitutional structure,” Patterson added.
The ATF rule affects not only long gun owners but also pistol and other handgun owners who use stabilizing braces, which are intended to help accuracy and prevent intense recoil when using firearms.
Patterson said the rule stands in direct violation of the Supreme Court’s landmark gun decision last year, which said firearm rules must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
“It cannot make that showing,” Patterson said of the ATF, noting the bureau has acknowledged at least 1.4 million U.S. residents own pistols with stabilizing braces.
The Firearms Policy Coalition also filed a complaint against the ATF rule in the Northern District of Texas.
“Federal agencies do not have the power to write new laws, and yet the ATF continues to attempt to expand its authority using the federal rulemaking process,” said Cody J. Wisniewski, FPC’s senior attorney for constitutional litigation.
The ATF rule was first proposed last year and faced an onslaught of rebuke from Republicans in Congress led by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), who proposed legislation to stop its enactment. Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) proposed a similar bill in the House.
Additionally, the ATF estimates that the cost of implementing the rule could amount to $266.9 million, according to the Federal Registrar.
Experts have said the rule will likely take years of litigation before courts reach a final decision on the matter.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Last month, opponents of a 2017 ATF rule under former President Donald Trump scored a legal win in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit after it held Congress is entitled to decide such rules surrounding firearms.
The ATF must decide whether to appeal the 5th Circuit decision to the Supreme Court, which has in recent years been prone to rein in federal rule-making.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the ATF for comment.
