President Joe Biden’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been handed another loss over its Final Rule redefining braced pistols as “short-barreled rifles,” subjecting them to regulation under the National Firearms Act of 1934.
On Friday in the case Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc. v. Garland, the U.S. Appeals Court for the 8th Circuit found the pistol brace rule to be unconstitutional and enjoined enforcement of the Final Rule. The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of 25 states, a stabilizing brace manufacturer, a firearms manufacturer as well as a number of other entities.
In the ruling, the court wrote: “The plaintiffs—a stabilizing-brace manufacturer, a firearm manufacturer, a gun association, an individual owner of braced weapons, and twenty-five states (collectively, the Coalition)—sued to enjoin the Final Rule, arguing it exceeds the ATF’s statutory authority under the NFA and GCA and is arbitrary and capricious. The district court denied the Coalition’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The Coalition appeals that denial. We conclude the Coalition is likely to succeed on the merits of its arbitrary-and-capricious challenge, so we reverse and remand to the district court.”
One bone of contention between the plaintiffs and the federal government was the lack of any standard within the rule that would determine whether a braced pistol could be shouldered.
“Thus, the Coalition is likely to succeed on the merits of its argument that this step is arbitrary and capricious; the ATF ‘has articulated no standard whatsoever for determining’ when a stabilizing brace’s rear surface area would allow the shouldering of a weapon,” the ruling stated. “That the regulated parties wish to see more specific metrics does not mean they wish to skirt or circumvent the law, as ATF insinuates. They may simply wish to comply with the law, by producing or equipping stabilizing braces that do not have a rear surface area that allows for shoulder firing a weapon.”
Officials from the states forming the coalition were delighted upon hearing the 8th Circuit Court’s ruling enjoining enforcement of the Final Rule.
“As Attorney General, I will defend the Constitution every single time, especially when the Biden-Harris Administration moves to eradicate Missourians’ Second Amendment rights,” Andrew Bailey, Missouri attorney general, said of the ruling. “The Constitution was meant to be a floor, not a ceiling, for our God-given rights. We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard Missourians’ right to keep and bear arms against encroachment by unelected federal bureaucrats.”
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, from another coalition state, North Dakota, was equally gratified with the court’s findings.
“Today’s ruling by the Eighth Circuit is a major victory for the United States Constitution and another major blow to this overbearing federal bureaucracy, particularly the Biden-Harris administration that tramples on our rights every single day,” Sen. Cramer said. “Congratulations to Attorney General Drew Wrigley on carrying this ball across the finish line for law-abiding North Dakotans. It is an honor to be able to block for him, just a little bit, and for our citizens. Way to go, Team Wrigley and North Dakota, and all the other states that stood up for our Constitution, for the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens of North Dakota and the great country that we are a part of.”
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