Press Releases
Womack Votes to Overturn ATF Stabilizing Brace Rule
Washington,
June 13, 2023
Washington, DC— June 13, 2023…Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) voted in support of H.J. Res. 44, a resolution that protects Second Amendment rights by overturning a Biden Administration Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) rule that classifies a firearm with a stabilizing brace as a short-barreled rifle subject to regulation under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) and the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). The bill passed the House of Representatives 219-210 today. Congressman Womack said, “The Biden Administration’s ATF rule erodes the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners and disabled combat veterans across the nation. I strongly support H.J. Res. 44, which overturns this unconstitutional government overreach and protects the rights of the American people, especially those who have courageously sacrificed for our nation.” The ATF’s rule contradicts its prior 2012 determination, made during the Obama Administration—on which law-abiding firearm owners relied for a decade—that a firearm equipped with a stabilizing brace, “would not be subject to NFA controls.” Stabilizing braces were first designed and intended to help disabled veterans fire large-format pistols. Under this rule, many disabled individuals have lost the ability to shoot these firearms. H.J. Res. 44 would overturn the Biden Administration’s rule. Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee. ### |