The Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution looked to strike down the agency’s complete reworking of the classification of a firearm modified with a stabilizer brace. Earlier this year, the ATF changed the definition of a pistol with a barrel shorter than 16 inches and equipped with a stabilizer brace to a short-barreled rifle.
This meant tens of millions of law-abiding Americans now must register their weapon with the federal government or technically be committing felonies.
There were other options presented, such as pistol owners removing and discarding the brace or altering it to where it could not be reattached to the firearm. The firearm could also be handed in to the nearest ATF office or destroyed. Not attractive alternatives.
The resulting felonies for not following along with this new rule are punishable with up to a $250,000 fine and as much as 10 years in prison.
The response from the sport shooting sector was predictably intense.
First, less than 1% of the shooting public who owns these stabilizer braces complied with the edict during the 120-day grace period. This mass resistance came despite the ATF waiving the $200 fee that normally accompanies registering short-barreled rifles.
Several gun groups filed lawsuits against the ATF and Justice Department over the new regulation seeking to block its enforcement. Some of the actions met with success, including those by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), and Gun Owners of America (GOA).
These pro-Second Amendment organizations secured injunctions against the rule, which prohibited federal authorities from enforcing the regulation against their members.
The CRA resolution encountered stiff resistance from the usual list of anti-gun suspects in the House and got off to a slow start. But a successful vote was taken with encouragingly bipartisan results, and the measure moved on to the Senate.
There, however, it faltered on a party-line vote. There were hopes that some lawmakers from states where support for gun rights is overwhelming would vote in favor of their constituents, but that did not materialize.
Two in particular presented a roadblock for defenders of the Second Amendment. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and John Tester (D-MT) were counted on to add the bipartisanship needed to counteract the ATF in the virtually evenly divided Senate.
Many supporters believed that senators from West Virginia and Montana would surely follow the will of the people, but that did not transpire.
The legislation failed on a 50-49 vote.
The disappointment among gun rights supporters is palpable. Many noted that if the ATF regulation were introduced to Congress as a bill, there is no chance it would pass. The GOA made note of this truth and slammed the Senate for taking the easy way out of the controversy.
GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt released a statement criticizing senators for not having the courage to stand up for their voters.
“It is incredibly disappointing that, despite an outpouring of grassroots opposition to the rule, the Senate concurred with President Biden and voted to make their constituents felons. Gun Owners of America will continue to fight back in the Courts, where we have already seen some strong success. The fight will go on.”
Speaking to Breitbart News after the vote, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) declared that “many Americans, including disabled veterans, rely on these braces to use their firearms, and it is critical that their constitutional Second Amendment rights are fully protected.”
Anyone blessed with the smallest understanding of how the American system works knows that laws originate in Congress. Federal agencies exist to carry out the statutes, not make what are essentially new laws on their own. This violates the letter and spirit of the Constitution.
The White House threatened a veto if the measure reached the Oval Office, but that does not excuse senators who failed in this golden opportunity to do what is right. Now gun owners must await relief from the judiciary.
