WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after Senate Democrats blocked the Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval he introduced with Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) and more than 40 of their Senate Republican colleagues that would have prevented the Biden administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from enforcing an anti-Second Amendment pistol brace rule:

“No law-abiding Texan should lose their constitutional right just because the Biden administration and Senate Democrats want to placate the progressive Left,” said Sen. Cornyn. “This unconstitutional power-grab goes against our fundamental liberties, and I look forward to the courts weighing in on this issue.”

Background:

The rule, titled Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces, reclassifies pistols as short-barreled rifles if they have a stabilizing brace attachment, even though many disabled veterans and other Americans rely on these braces to use their firearms. Under this rule, otherwise lawful gun owners could face up to 10 years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines if they fail to register pistols with stabilizing braces with the ATF. If gun owners do not register their firearms, they could have to destroy the firearm, surrender their firearm to the ATF, or remove the brace in such a way that it cannot be reattached.

In 2012, the Obama administration’s ATF determined that pistol-brace attachments do not change the classification of a pistol to that of a rifle. Despite this, the Biden administration in 2021 directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to propose a rule that clarifies when a pistol with a brace attachment should be designated as a rifle. Earlier this year, the DOJ announced the “stabilizing braces” final rule.