A federal judge in Texas has issued a preliminary injunction against President Biden’s new regulations on pistols with stabilizing braces, following a lawsuit from gun rights activists. The ruling came on the deadline day before the rule was set to go into effect. Gun Owners of America (GOA), the Gun Owners Foundation, and the State of Texas filed the lawsuit.
Judge Drew B. Tipton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted the preliminary injunction, preventing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from enforcing the new rule on stabilizing braces. This decision aligns with a similar ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The injunction stops the enforcement of the rule, protecting individuals from having to register, destroy, or remove their pistol braces.
What sets this case apart is the involvement of the State of Texas as a non-private entity. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that the rule would burden Texas police who own previously legal handguns with stabilizing braces, leading to compliance costs. The court agreed that Texas had a valid reason to sue the ATF and acknowledged the irreparable harm that would occur without the injunction.
President Biden introduced the stabilizing brace rule as part of a comprehensive gun crime strategy in response to mass shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Dayton, Ohio. The rule classifies pistols with attached stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles, which face stricter regulations due to their accuracy and concealability. The administration argues that the gun industry has been using stabilizing braces to evade federal regulations and convert pistols into short-barreled rifles.
Gun rights groups oppose the stabilizing brace rule, claiming that it violates the Constitution by compelling gun owners to register their firearms or face prosecution. The Gun Owners of America expressed gratitude towards the judge’s decision and pledged to continue their fight against what they view as an attack on law-abiding gun owners.
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