ATF and Arm Braces (Letter to Congress)

We are only a few months away from November 2022. Gas prices are now below $4, in some locations, and campaign ads clog up the Television. This can only mean one thing…Mid Term elections are coming very soon.

This year’s mid term elections are extremely important. They will determine if the Biden Administration gains more support in Congress. Recently, the left has become emboldened to push more restrictive gun control measures. Also, since the current administration is supporting them, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) is once again attacking the pistol braces for AR 15 Pistols among other firearms related items.

First off, it is frustrating and perplexing how the BATF is allowed to operate the way they do. They are making “opinions” or “rules” that they, themselves, are enforcing the same as laws. It cannot be overstated how wrong it is for the BATF to make laws and enforce them. No other agency is allowed to do this. There is a separation of power for a reason and this needs to be addressed. Allowing the BATF to have this much power is dangerous no matter what side of the party line someone aligns themselves.

The AR15 pistol brace was designed to help disabled people shoot their firearms accurately. I am pretty sure that is safer than shooting inaccurately and indiscriminately. When this brace was first released it was approved by the BATF. For some reason the same brace that was perfectly acceptable from day one is now not okay for law abiding citizens to own. This is an arbitrary decision, much like many other gun laws.

A firearms registration is illegal. However, the BATF is getting around that by forcing the owner to classify the AR15 pistol with a brace as a Short-Barreled Rifle (SBR) under the NFA. All SBRs must be registered and are highly regulated. So highly regulated that once the firearm is designated as an SBR it cannot be transferred, sold, or loaned to anyone. In addition, if a person wants to travel with that firearm, they need to fill out a form to ask permission to cross state lines with said firearm. This is ridiculous and unnecessary.

They may attempt to sugar coat this but offering to waive the $200 tax stamp to do so. They are also trying to allow an “amnesty” period for that registration. Amnesty would imply that the firearm owner did something wrong and the government is allowing time for them to register their firearm without getting in legal trouble. In this case, the owners of these firearms did nothing wrong. The owners purchased or built their firearms when it was legal to do so and now the BATF is trying to make criminals out of law abiding gun owners.

The left and the BATF have repeatedly tried to ban firearms based on specific features such as pistol braces, collapsible stocks, bayonet lugs, and pistol grips. The problem is that these features do not make a firearm more or less dangerous. The AR15 platform is extremely popular or “in common use” in this country. It is popular because it is extremely effective as a self defense tool, hunting rifle, and a sporting rifle. It is a semi-automatic rifle. It is not a weapon of war or assault rifle or whatever scary moniker used to make uneducated people afraid of this firearm.

We cannot allow the BATF or the far left to force registration or ban the AR15 platform or specific parts of this firearm. Also, the BATF needs to be reined in and their power needs to be put in line with the Constitution. We the People urge you to vote down any legislation referring to gun registration, AR 15 bans, a change in pistol brace classification or any other bills the further restrict the rights of law abiding, gun owning Americans.