An open letter from Gun Owners of America to key senators and congressmen follows . . .

Dear Speaker McCarthy, Minority Leader Jefferies, Majority Leader Schumer, and Minority Leader McConnell,

We the undersigned sportsmen, sportswomen, and conservation leaders write to you today on behalf of the owners of up to 40,000,000 stabilizing braced pistols. These braced pistols are especially important in allowing elderly and/or disabled sportsmen and sportswomen to participate in the American hunting tradition. We urge Congress to pass a joint resolution of disapproval of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) rule entitled Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces.” This current ATF rule is a blatant ban on millions of otherwise legally owned firearms that elderly and disabled Americans need and rely upon to hunt and participate in recreational shooting activities.

This ATF rule not only bans certain semiautomatic pistols like AR-15s (which are commonly used for hunting animals like wild hogs or coyotes), but the Biden Pistol Brace Ban also outright bans certain bolt action pistols which are designed specifically for precision sport shooting and even big game hunting. ATF included no less than four examples of banned bolt action rifles with attached stabilizing braces.[i]

The first braced bolt action banned by ATF by name is commercially known as the “Pork Sword.” The manufacturer advertises it as a Remington 700 type firearm which is “perfect for anything from hunting [to] long range precision.”[ii] The “Pork Sword” configuration can allow elderly and disabled hunters, including many veterans who served our country bravely, to use common big game calibers to hunt animals like deer and elk. In reality, a stabilizing brace gives these hunters an opportunity to hunt America’s most popular big game species which they otherwise might not be able to hunt.[iii] Banning the “Pork Sword” and similar products from being configured with a stabilizing brace as ATF described will have no discernible impact on crime whatsoever.

As hunters, we are also concerned that this ban on a mere firearm accessory—a simple piece of plastic—could be used to justify bans on other firearms and accessories in the future. The hunting community has developed a number of innovative advancements in recent decades that are considered legal – just as ATF considered pistol braces legal for over a decade. If this unconstitutional executive branch action is allowed to stand, it will only be a matter of time until even more hunting firearms, accessories, and traditions are under attack.

Furthermore, the stabilizing brace is an accessory that is protected by the Second Amendment. A judge in the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed this, holding:

[B]races are needed by certain individuals with disabilities to operate a firearm. Thus, arm braces are an integral part of the meaningful exercise of Second Amendment rights for such individuals and can also be considered an “arm.” … It is uncontroverted that law-abiding members of society, including the elderly, infirmed, and disabled, have the constitutional right to arm themselves for self-defense.[iv]

Those same “elderly, infirmed, and disabled” gun owners who have a constitutionally protected right to a braced firearm for self-defense also need braces to engage in hunting and other recreational shooting sports. The stabilizing brace was originally invented to help a wounded combat veteran control and more precisely shoot a firearm while at the shooting range, so imagine how much more helpful it would be for that same individual to use this product in a tree stand or during a spot and stalk hunt!

We urge Congress to hold the ATF accountable for this attack on elderly, infirmed, combat wounded, and disabled gun owners which will negatively impact their ability to hunt. We ask that Congress provide oversight and disapprove of this rule using the Congressional Review Act. Please protect hunters, protect sportsmen and sportswomen, and protect the individual Second Amendment right to own and use pistol braced firearms without restriction.

Sincerely,

Tim Macy
Gun Owners of America

Sam Paredes
Gun Owners of California

Ted Nugent
Singer, Songwriter, & Guitarist

Mark Jones
Second Amendment Hunters

Donald Trump Jr.
Hunter & Pistol Brace Owner

Jason Wilson
Yetiman

Jason Vincent

Field Ethos

Tarra Stoddard

RealCamoGirl & Shooting Sisterhood

Kevin Paulson

Hunting Life, Hunting Insider

Aidan Johnston

RealGunLobbyist

Kailey Neiman

2A Influencer & Podcast Host

View The 15,000+ Additional Signatures Here

[i] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. “Commercially Available Firearms equipped with a “stabilizing brace” that are short-barreled rifles”.

[ii] Black Collar Arms. “Pork Sword Chassis”.

[iii] Rain Shadow Armory. “Black Collar Arms – Pork Sword Chassis”.

[iv] District Judge McGlynn. Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois et al. v. Pritzker et al.. April 28th, 2023. 19-20. 27.

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9 COMMENTS

  1. S­t­a­r­t w­o­r­k­i­n­g f­r­o­m h­o­m­e! G­r­e­a­t w­o­r­k f­o­r-E­v­er, ­S­t­a­y a­t H­o­m­e M­o­m­s O­R a­n­y­o­n­e n­e­e­d­s­ a­n e­x­t­r­a i­n­c­o­m­e. G­e­t s­t­a­r­t­e­d. Y­o­u o­n­l­y n­e­e­d­ a bgh computer a­n­d a reliable c­o­m­p­u­t­e­r c­o­n­n­e­c­t­i­o­n­ s­o d­o­n’t g­e­t l­a­t­e t­r­y……. https://2no.co/getcash1

    • Uh those who penned what reads like a plea for mercy must have missed the televised congressional discussion all about braces. No need for a documentary level letter and no need to stoop to use the handicapped to get the results you want. Reminds me of Gun Control zealots stooping to use children to get what they want.

      A short one page get to the point letter would suffice followed by a will not comply with the atf Indian Givers.

  2. It would be nice if our Rulers actually paid attention to us. But I suspect they are thinking: “Let them eat plastic”.

    • When it comes to enforcing made up regulations, they will not ” feel ” the need for a warrant or any other notions of due process.

      Game Wardens Steal Private Landowner’s Trail Camera, Lawsuit Explodes

      “I don’t know if they planted cameras that day to watch me or if they planted them in the past,” says Josh Highlander. “I don’t know if they’d been on my land before. When it comes to the abuse of power by the government, I can believe anything now.”

      In the early afternoon of April 8, 2023, three game wardens garbed in leafy camo snuck past no-trespassing signs, entered Josh Highlander’s private land, proceeded to his legal food plot, and stole his game camera, all without warrant or consent.

      The camera, one of four taken from the Highlander that day, represents a shocking government assertion: the power to seize property from private land without consent, warrant, or probable cause to investigate a landowner. Highlander, who contends the government has stepped too far, is fighting back through a major constitutional lawsuit.

      Highlander has never had a hunting violation in his life. “The feeling of security on my private land is gone, like watching a piece of glass shatter,” he says.

      “This is happening all over the country,” says Joshua Windham, an attorney representing Highlander from the Institute for Justice (IJ), a national public-interest law firm and legal advocacy group. “The government is invading private land, spying on people, and seizing their property in an effort to gin up evidence that they’ve done something wrong, all without judicial oversight. And the scariest part of it all? Most of it happens in secret. We’re really just seeing the tip of the iceberg in this case.”

      https://www.agweb.com/news/business/farmland/game-wardens-steal-private-landowners-trail-camera-lawsuit-explodes

  3. A note to misguided politicians… The Second Amendment is NOT about hunting! Thanks for the limited effort, but still capitulating, so go eff yourselves.

  5. The point of all of this is lost on me. 2A Supporting Reps and Senators Do Not Hold a 2/3rds Majority in either House. Without that 2/3rds Majority, Biden Can Veto Any and All Measures and there’s not a Fucking thing we can do about it.
    This Will Have To Be Fought Out in the Courts, and we’ve wasted Time and Money trying to attack Biden’s Overreach through the Legislature.
    Does No one at the various Gun Rights Organizations know how to count?
    287 Votes are needed in the House. 68 Votes in the Senate. Without those numbers, we’re wasting our time.

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