WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of over 50 YouTuber personalities, including myself, has sent a letter to Congress demanding that they counteract the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) pistol brace rule.
The group is organized by Gun Owners of America (GOA) and calls itself the Second Amendment Action Alliance. The group has over 30 million combined followers. The letter was signed by some of the biggest stars in the gun world, including Jared Yanis from Guns and Gadgets, Tim Harmsen from the Military Arms Channel, and Eric Blandford of Iraqveteran8888.
The YouTubers want Congress to take on the ever-growing power of the ATF, which is poised to make millions of Americans felons overnight once the new rule on pistol-stabilizing devices kicks in on June 1, 2023. The new regulation was made at the urging of the Biden Administration and would reclassify almost all braced pistols as short-barreled rifles (SBR). Anyone caught with an unregistered SBR could be charged with violating the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA), which could land a person in prison for ten years. This punishment is the same as having an illegal machine gun.
“Prior to the Biden Administration, ATF issued numerous interpretive guidance letters approving pistol braced weapons for manufacture, sale, and possession without additional restrictions, such as federal gun registration and fingerprinting. For nearly a decade, gun stores sold braced pistols and law abiding gun owners added them to their collections and home defense setups. Despite there being millions of braced pistols in common use around the country, there has been no statistically significant rise in violent crimes committed with these accessories. They do not make a firearm more dangerous,” the letter reads.
The group wants Congress to take up and pass H. J. Res. 44 and S. J. Res. 20. Those resolutions use the Congressional Review Act to disapprove the ATF’s regulation. Both resolutions have been introduced but have been stalled by the Republican leadership. Pressure from gun owners has failed to sway Republicans in Congress, who seem to have no appetite for passing pro-gun legislation.
“Whether by his calls to ban semiautomatic weapons or his multiple executive actions to ban homemade guns or pistol braces, President Biden has made it clear that he has no respect for the Second Amendment or the millions of citizens who cherish the right guaranteed by it,” said Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for GOA. “We urge Speaker McCarthy to get H. J. Res. 44 to the floor and passed before ATF starts putting gun owners in jail for keeping their pistols on June 1st.”
The group also wants Congress to pass the Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act. The proposed legislation would remove SBRs from the NFA. SBRs were added to the NFA when Congress attempted to ban handguns and viewed SBRs as a loophole to any handgun ban. The SHORT Act would also require the ATF to destroy any records of SBRs.
The final demand of the Second Amendment Action Alliance is to defund the ATF. The ATF has been increasingly hostile to gun owners, used its power to prosecute individuals for selling lightning link drawings, and increased revocations of federal firearms licenses (FFL) by 500%.
Some Republicans were unhappy to receive the letter and contacted GOA to complain about being put on the spot. The Second Amendment Action Alliance believes that these politicians should be placed on the spot, and if they refuse to back gun rights, that should be known to the gun community.
A companion organization called the No Compromise Alliance consisting of gun industry members such as Kahr Arms and Classic Firearms, also sent a letter to Congress echoing many of the same demands.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
