Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Relating to ``Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached `Stabilizing Braces'

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that today we are considering my Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval, H.J. Res. 44, co-led with Congressman Richard Hudson, which would strike down the ATF's unconstitutional pistol stabilizing brace rule.

Back in January, the ATF finalized this unlawful measure pertaining to firearms with stabilizing braces. Under the ATF's new rule, any pistol braced firearm would be considered an unregistered short- barreled rifle, subjecting these firearms to the draconian regulations of the National Firearms Act of 1934.

The ATF informed law-abiding gun owners possessing pistols housing these stabilizing braces that they would have only 120 days to register these firearms or risk harsh NFA violations, including hefty fines of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison. This 120-day amnesty registration window recently ended at midnight on May 31.

We all know the end result of gun registration. It will inevitably lead to gun confiscation.

For the stabilizer brace owners who do not wish to register their firearms, the ATF provides a few very heavyhanded alternatives. Gun owners can turn in, destroy, convert, or dismantle their pistol braced firearms. That means, basically, that ATF says you can't have it anymore.

Again, if law-abiding owners refuse to comply with these ridiculous regulations, they face severe punishment. They face 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for simply attaching a piece of plastic to their firearm. They then become a felon for life.

The regulatory saga surrounding the pistol brace is enough to make even the most seasoned lawmaker's head spin. It is so ridiculously Big Government that no American can be expected to keep up with this irrational rulemaking.

Back in 2012, under the Obama administration, pistol braces were determined to be legal and fully unrestricted. This decision was then reversed 3 years later in 2015, claiming stabilizing braces were illegal to shoulder, turning pistol braced firearms into unregistered short-barreled rifles. This changed again in 2017 when stabilizing braces were once more determined to be legal to shoulder as long as they were designed as a pistol brace.

Now here we are in 2023, as the ATF is yet again vilifying pistol stabilizing braces and turning their owners into felons. Americans, including disabled veterans, are at risk of losing their right to keep and bear arms because of this ATF rule that many Americans likely do not even know exists.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard many fear-inducing lies from my Democrat colleagues that these braces make firearms more dangerous and deadly. That is simply not true. Stabilizing braces were originally designed to help service-disabled veterans to not just enjoy the sport of shooting but to assist these wounded heroes in practicing their constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

The brace attaches to the rear of a firearm in order to anchor the gun to the shooter's arm, allowing them to shoot one-handed. That is exactly what you are supposed to be able to do with a pistol, shoot one-handed. That is the definition.

Millions of veterans, including service-disabled veterans, rely on these braces every day to exercise their Second Amendment freedoms and right to self-defense. Yet, the Biden ATF rule criminalizes these beneficial stabilizing braces--again, turning millions of these law- abiding gun owners into criminals overnight.

It is no secret that with this measure, and many other forms of backdoor gun control, the left's ultimate goal is an unarmed America. That is what this is all about, slowly chipping away at Americans' constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Not on my watch.

This rule doesn't just infringe upon Americans' Second Amendment liberties. It represents a dangerous government overreach by the Biden administration. Congress maintains sole legislative authority, not government agencies and not the executive branch. Congress writes laws, not unelected, anti-gun bureaucrats at the ATF.

This is nothing more than governing by executive fiat to advance the left's desire to disarm our Nation and destroy Americans' Second Amendment rights.

Today, the people's House can take a stand against this unlawful overreach. I am proud to lead the fight against this unconstitutional pistol brace rule with this critical legislation, H.J. Res. 44. I am proud to have my friend, Congressman Hudson, join me in co-leading this vital effort, as well as over 180 original House Republican cosponsors.

The House must act now to save law-abiding gun owners from being unwittingly criminalized by the ATF. We must act now to defend service- disabled veterans' and all Americans' Second Amendment freedoms. We must act now to stop the Biden administration's executive overreach and tyranny in its tracks.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, to support H.J. Res. 44. If they fail to do so, I hope they are prepared to go home and explain to their constituents that they support the ATF's unconstitutional rule to strip service-disabled veterans of their Second Amendment rights.

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, I hope they are prepared to go home and explain why they refused to take a stand against this brazen government overreach.

Mr. Speaker, I trust that they will instead choose to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.J. Res. 44. I implore my colleagues to join me because, by passing this legislation, we will send a resounding message to both the judicial system and the Nation that we firmly reject the ATF's unconstitutional rule and executive overreach, that we unapologetically defend service-disabled veterans' unalienable right to keep and bear arms, and that we will never back down in the fight to protect all Americans' Second Amendment liberties.

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