A group of military veterans has sued the Biden administration over a new gun rule that essentially turns them into terrorists.
The vets objected to a new regulation imposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that declared shooting aids called stabilizing braces were equivalent to “short-barreled rifles,” which are illegal under federal law, according to the conservative news website JustTheNews.com on Tuesday.
The ATF would require gun owners who use stabilizing braces to obtain federal licenses to own their weapons.
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In their lawsuit, the veterans contend the Biden administration rule violates the Second Amendment. They also argue it is unlawful because Congress did not pass a law that gives the ATF such power. The plaintiffs are represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty or WILL.
On its website, WILL argues the rule would require the owners of 40 million pistols to register their weapons or face the consequences.
Noncompliance could be punished by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In a statement, WILL Deputy Counsel Dan Lennington, said, “These military veterans defended our country overseas, and now they are defending our rights here at home. WILL is proud to represent these patriots. The Biden Administration has no power to re-classify pistols as rifles, and we will vigorously defend the Second Amendment in federal court.”
Last month, as The Free Press reported, Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a bill to abolish the ATF over the new rule.
The ATF’s proposal generated more than 237,000 comments during the public comment period. Only 8% of those were in favor of the new rule.
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Gaetz argued the rule “unfairly punishes disabled gun owners and veterans who rely on stabilizing braces to be able to fire with one hand.”
“I have a lot of disabled veterans in my district who enjoy pistol shooting and rely on stabilizing braces to be able to engage in the activity,” the congressman told Fox News.
“The continued existence of the ATF is increasingly unwarranted based on the actions they’re taking to convert otherwise law-abiding people into felons,” Gaetz continued.
“The people at the ATF making these rules fundamentally don’t understand firearms,” he added. “It seems the ATF is on a snipe hunt for regulatory action that virtue signals to the anti-gun left, but that has no real practical safety impact on Americans.”
“Because we’re hearing this very loudly from our constituents, and the reason I filed this bill is, frankly, I think that the ATF should have to justify their existence at all,” said Gaetz.
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