CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Monday wrote a letter to the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seeking clarification of recent testimony before the House Judiciary Committee regarding stabilizing braces.
ATF Director Steven Dettelbach testified that those who own pistols with stabilizing braces can simply detach the brace from the pistol and retain possession of both the brace and the pistol to adhere to the agency’s requirements in the final rule called Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces.
But this conflicts with ATF guidance on the rule stating that an individual must “[p]ermanently remove and dispose of, or alter, the ‘stabilizing brace’ such that it cannot be reattached.” Owners of firearms with stabilizing brazes must register them by May 31, 2023, or they will violate the rule.
“This is a serious and time sensitive matter,” Attorney General Morrisey wrote. “Possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle following May 31, 2023, will be a felony offense, carrying serious criminal penalties. Yet the public has conflicting statements from ATF regarding how to comply with the rule. This must be addressed right away.”
Stabilizing braces were designed to help people with disabilities use pistols. Since then, many others, including older persons, people with limited mobility and those with smaller stature have come to use the braces. For more than a decade, these braces have been sold as firearms attachments not subject to regulation.
The rule, however, affects most all owners of combinations of stabilizing braces and pistols and handgun owners—many lawful gun owners use stabilizers to prevent some recoil when using firearms and to help with accuracy.
In February, Attorney General Morrisey led a coalition of 25 states and others in challenging the rule as unlawful, arbitrary and capricious.
“We should not be making it harder for senior citizens and people with disabilities—and many disabled veterans—to defend themselves,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “I will continue stand up for the Second Amendment rights of all West Virginians.”