President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats took a break from condemning AR-15-style rifles to go after pistol braces, and the bovine excrement flowed so deep that the government should have issued hip wagers to members of Congress.
Pistol braces attach to handguns to allow the user to stabilize the gun and his aim.
They’re favored by gun owners, especially returning veterans, who suffer from disabilities but who want to safeguard themselves, their home and their family.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recently promulgated a rule that would require a special license to use such braces. They argue that the brace converts a handgun into a rifle — but a short-barreled rifle that’s illegal absent the license.
Last week the House voted 219 to 210 to override the new ATF rule, and we can reasonably assume that it’ll pass the Senate as well. However, neither chamber will have the 2/3rds votes necessary to override a likely presidential veto.
Prior to the House vote, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee displayed total ignorance about the braces.
The Texas Democrat rambled on that "A veteran can buy a brace any day of the year" (so what?), and then equated them to criminals with "ghost guns," and "automatic weapons in the hands of civilians."
She warned that "you can buy the brace without a background check."
Jackson Lee concluded, "I commend the ATF for. . . identifying a problem and providing guidance to prevent the harm created by the misuse of stabilizing braces, which convert everyday firearms into killing machines."
Said the National Association for Gun Rights, "Our whole office just lost brain cells listening to @JacksonLeeTX18 talk about stabilizing braces."
This is the same congresswoman who also went after AR-15-style rifles with similar nonsense.
"I’ve held an AR-15 in my hand, I wish I hadn’t," she said. "It is as heavy as 10 boxes that you might be moving and the bullet that is utilized, a .50 caliber, these kinds of bullets, need to be licensed and do not need to be on the street."
And according to a statement Biden made over the weekend, he’ll undoubtedly veto the bill — and he left people scratching their heads wondering what the hell he was talking about.
"Made it harder for people buy stabilized brief — braces," he said. "Put a pistol on a brace, it turns into a gun, makes it more, you can have a higher-caliber weapon, higher-caliber bullet coming out of that gun."
Nationally syndicated talk radio host Dana Loesch was one of those scratching her head.
"This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard a politician say about guns," said Loesch, a former National Rifle spokeswoman.
"A plastic brace on a gun does not change the caliber of the gun or the rate of fire."
CNN contributor Stephen Gutowski explained further.
"Braces are designed to help stabilize a pistol that has a barrel under 16 inches long," said Gutowski, founder of The Reload, a firearm news and analysis service. “Biden has reclassified pistols equipped with braces as 'short-barrel rifles' by having the ATF declare they're designed and intended to be pressed against a shooter's shoulder."
But all is not lost. In response to the rule change, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) filed a lawsuit in mid-February, accusing the agency of violating the Administrative Procedures Act, the Second Amendment, and the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.
The complaint names the ATF, its director, the Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland as defendants.
It was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. The lawsuit was prompted, in part, because of the ATF’s reclassification of pistols equipped with braces.
"The Biden administration’s new 'arm brace rule' is a marked departure from the ATF’s previous position about whether pistols with arm braces are legally considered pistols," said Alan Gottlieb, SAF founder and executive vice president.
And the lawsuit is already seeing results.
Late last month the judge granted the plaintiffs a preliminary injunction, and last week the National Rifle Association asked the court to join the lawsuit as co-plaintiffs.
We’d like to think that Washington politicians strive to become somewhat of an expert on the matters in which they pass legislation and sign it into law.
But we’d be mistaken.
Until and unless that happens, we have to rely on the courts to set things right.
And we also have to pray that presidents like Joe Biden are prevented from appointing too many people to the federal bench.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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