Pistol-Stabilizing Braces: Gun Craziness Trying to Reach Another High Point

 

Provides a more steady and accurate hand

(Imagine holding two pistols at the same time)

Gun safety and loopholes to get around them IAW the NRA and GOP nasty rightwing gun nut driven tactics. The latest example is from this article and this headline:

“DOJ to impose harsher rules for pistol-stabilizing braces”

My note: Those stabilizing braces for pistols produce the same effect as bump stocks for rifles – they allow pistols to fire more rapidly and deadlier similar to a rifle.

The DOJ submitted a new firearm regulation January 13 aimed at shelling out standards for the use of pistol-stabilizing braces. Under the rule, the use of stabilizing braces, that effectively convert pistols into short-barreled rifles, will be governed by existing regulations for rifles in the National Firearms Act. The braces will also be subject to more stringent rules, such as extended wait periods, higher taxes, and registration requirements.

AG Merrick Garland said in a press release: “Almost a century ago, Congress determined that short-barreled rifles must be subject to heightened requirements. Today’s rule makes clear that firearm manufacturers, dealers, and individuals cannot evade these important public safety protections simply by adding accessories that transform pistols into a short-barreled rifle. Stabilizing braces are accessories that can extend the length of a gun and can include straps in order to bolster the accuracy of a firearm. The new rule applies to stabilizing braces to convert pistols into rifles with a barrel of less than 16 inches.”

In April 2021, Garland tasked the ATF to evaluate the matter while at events with President Biden about gun violence prevention where gunmen in Boulder, CO and in Dayton, OH used pistol stabilizing braces in mass shootings around the time of that announcement.

In 1934, Congress passed the National Firearms Act to regulate short-barreled rifles because they are “more easily concealable than long-barreled rifles but have more destructive power than traditional handguns.”

ATF Director Steven Dettelbach contends: “This rule enhances public safety and prevents people from circumventing the laws Congress passed almost a century ago. 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.”

Some Republicans bristled at the new rule, with WV Republican AG Patrick Morrisey lambasting the move as he decried: “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. This is a completely nonsensical regulation. We are taking a very close look at the rule and evaluating our legal options.”

My 2 Cents along with some history and my position on guns: First of all, I support the second amendment but right now far right gun advocates driven by and propped up by the NRA abuse that basic concept of 2^nd Amendment Right.

Example: The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, commonly called the federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB and AWB 1994), was enacted in September 1994. The ban, including a ban on high-capacity magazines, became defunct (expired) in September 2004 per a 10-year political sunset provision.

Yes, own a gun or guns, self-defense at home and property, having a permit to carry should be narrow and very limited. 

The so-called “open-carry” laws for carrying openly in public with or without a permit is utter insanity that lacks any rational, logical, or even common-sense reason – none whatsoever like even allowing guns on campus, in Church, and other public places. That should not be allowed – even in the old west days, some places had gun bans. 

All 50 states allow, at some level, concealed carry, but some states are considerably more restrictive than others: CA, FL, IL, TX, SC, and NY as well as Washington, DC are the only states to prohibit open carry of handguns in public. That smart policy. 

Open carry is just begging for a modern day “OK Corral” showdown. 

In short gun violence is way out of control – and recently even the news about a first grade student had a handgun in his class and then he shot his teacher in Newport News, VA is totally insane. 

Thanks for stopping by.