Biden’s decision to reclassify some handguns as short rifles sparks lawsuit in Texas

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Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden on Thursday, alleging that the Bureau’s changed rule on alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives violated Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Paxton partnered with Gun Owners of America, a gun rights group, in a lawsuit that found an error in how the federal firearms agency classifies guns with “stabilizing braces.”

Last month, the US Department of Justice finalized a rule that redefined ATF for firearms equipped with stabilizing braces, a rear mount originally designed for veterans with disabilities. Under the new rule, firearms, including pistols fitted with rear attachments, are classified as rifles or “short-barreled rifles”, subject to stricter regulations than weapons without these accessories.

As gun reform faced strong opposition from Republican lawmakers, Biden decided to regulate firearm accessories as one of the methods to combat gun violence. The rule’s passage provides insight into how the Biden administration is trying to push through gun reforms to deal with the scourge of mass shootings that have become an integral part of American society.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Biden called for further gun reforms, including a ban on “assault weapons” and the passage of red flag laws that allow judges to temporarily seize firearms from people deemed dangerous.

“‘Do something.’ It was a plea from parents who lost their children in Uvalda, and I met with each of them,” Biden said.

According to the Archive of Gun Violence, there have been 63 mass shootings since January 1, in which more than four people were injured or killed. A website that tracks gun violence shows that eight of these mass shootings took place in Texas.

Paxton and Gun Owners of America, a non-profit organization based in Springfield, Virginia, claims the changed definition targets legitimate gun owners and puts them at risk of criminalization if they don’t register their firearm within the deadline set by the ATF, per rules for brevity. . Barrel rifles specified in the National Firearms Act of 1934.

“The Biden Administration and [ATF] want to force the world to ban firearms, which have been used on maybe a few occasions across the country since they were invented, instead of going out and fighting real crime,” said Sam Paredes, board member of GOA.

He added that the ATF does not have the right to amend the rules. GOA and Paxton demanded that the courts prevent the ATF from applying the rule until a court decision is made.

The shooter who killed 10 people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado in 2021 allegedly used a stabilizing brace. The gunman used the same modification during a 2019 shooting in Dayton, Ohio, where he killed nine people and injured more than two dozen people.

Gun manufacturers originally made stabilizing braces to make firearms more accessible to people with disabilities. Gun control groups claim that this accessory makes firearms more lethal because they can be fired with one hand and are easy to hide.

A spokesman for the ATF denied the Tribune’s request for comment, citing a pending lawsuit.

“This rule does not apply to ‘stabilization braces’ that are objectively designed and intended as ‘stabilization braces’ for use by persons with disabilities, and not for carrying the weapon on the shoulder as a rifle,” reads a page on the ATF website with statement of the amended rules. rule. “Such stabilizing braces are designed to fit around the arm, not as a buttstock. However, if the ‘stabilizing brace’ firearm is a short rifle, it must be registered no later than May 31, 2023.”

Paxton criticized the new rule, saying it would incriminate gun owners and could land them in jail for up to ten years if they don’t follow registration requirements.

“This is yet another attempt by the Biden administration to work around the US Constitution and expand gun registration in America,” Paxton said in a press release. “There is absolutely no legal basis for the ATF’s haphazard decision to try to change the long-standing classification of stabilizing braces, forcibly register Americans, and then throw them in jail for ten years if they don’t quickly comply.”

Paxton argues that the new rule is “dangerous and unconstitutional” and hopes the lawsuit will ensure it “never goes into effect.”