SB Tactical FS1913 Brace on Black Collar Arms Pork Sword Pistol
Jeremy S. for TTAG: Black Collar Arms Pork Sword Pistol with SB Tactical FS1913A Brace

Last week, a Fifth Circuit District Judge issued an injunction blocking ATF enforcement of its new pistol brace rule that goes into effect tomorrow. The judge made it clear that the injunction covers all of the named plaintiffs in the suit including all members of the Firearms Policy Coalition. That, in effect, extended the injunction nationwide to anyone who is or would like to become an FPC member.

Coincidentally, the FPC realigned its membership structure over the holiday weekend, making it easy for anyone to become an FPC member for as little as $20. Here’s their announcement . . .

On Sunday, May 28, 2023, the Board of Directors of Firearms Policy Coalition made a number of formal changes to the membership structure of the organization. First, the Board granted an Individual Membership to all individual monetary donors of FPC who have supported FPC’s activities through financial contribution(s) of twenty U.S. Dollars ($20) or more from June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023, inclusive. Those memberships will have an effective date of June 1, 2022, and an expiration date of December 31, 2023, unless the Individual Member renews the granted membership on or before the end of 2023.

This granted membership will ensure that all individuals who supported the work of the organization in the period with a financial contribution of $20 or more are officially recognized by FPC as an Individual Member. FPC will update its membership records accordingly on or about June 1, 2023, and then send a message confirming the granted membership status to all such individuals by email as soon as possible. This one-time donor membership program will not affect the membership term of current FPC members.

Additionally, the Board established a new structure for the classification of certain types of members, including:

      • Individual Members (for individual persons)
      • Commercial Members (for for-profit entities)
      • Affiliate Members (for non-profit entities)

All current FPC members in good standing will be reorganized into the appropriate classification of membership under the new membership structure. To support the new membership structure, FPC will soon establish new online member application forms for each membership class. In the meantime:

      • INDIVIDUALS: If you are an individual who would like to Join FPC and support our work, please sign up online at JoinFPC.org.
      • INDUSTRY & NONPROFITS: If you are a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of goods, or a pro-freedom nonprofit organization, and would like to join FPC, please contact us at [email protected].

If you are a FPC member or donor and have a question, please contact the FPC support team at [email protected]. Inquiries will be responded to as quickly as possible in the order in which they are received.

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66 COMMENTS

  1. Someone forgot to tell the judge The Second Amendment does not require a cover charge.

    • Well that’s swell! I never bought in to braces. And I care about having “rights” in ILLannoy. BTW all you gotta do is use yer so-called AR pistol like a pistol🙄

      • So in other words, all you gotta do is convert something functionally similar to the carbines selected as the primary infantry / SOF arms of the US and many allies, into something that is essentially useless? Why would anyone get worked up over that?🙄

      • So hypothetically someone legally purchased a Springfield Saint 300 Blackout Pistol from Springfield’s website and had it shipped to an FFL in their area where they passed a federal background check and now they’re supposed to register it with an alphabet agency because they said so? FUCK THAT! Seriously FWW this isn’t about the weapon it’s about the federal overeach.

        • And before some grammar fool gives me crap I clicked on the ABC Check to see if overeach was the correct spelling. My bad. Overreach!

    • One of the things you’ll notice about liberal vs conservative judges is that a liberal judge will issue a nationwide broad injunction while a conservative judge tends to rule in a manner that’s more focused.

      The same philosophy that causes the ruling to happen in many cases is what makes it so narrow typically.

      Illinois is suffering through their FOID system because a judge declared it unconstitutional for literally one person.

      • What you’re noting is specifically because, generally speaking, Conservatives are idiots when it comes to politics.

        The Left sees everything as politics and therefore makes everything political. The Right doesn’t. Which is another way of saying that the Right knows the Left cheats and the Right still plays by the rules.

        To steal something commonly said in the 2A community:

        The Left believes that woman raped and strangled with her own pantyhose is morally superior to the woman who shoots the rapist.

        Yup, and Conservatives love being the woman found with her hosiery around her neck. Gives them the warm and fuzzies for some insane reason.

    • This is a PRELIMINARY Injunction and the actual final judgement has yet to be issued or fully decided. The way these things work historically he has gone further than most judges to clarify that all members and cohabitants are covered by this preliminary injunction.

  2. Several gun rights attorneys, including this one, do not agree with the FPC’s stance that NEW members are protected.

    The clarification issued by the court states:

    “Plaintiffs merely request clarification on whether their reading of the term ‘Plaintiffs’ to include the customers and members whose interests Plaintiffs Maxim Defense and Firearms Policy Coalition (‘FPC’) have represented since day one of this litigation is correct.”

    That reading is correct. Also as requested, the term “Plaintiffs in this case” includes the individual plaintiffs’ resident family members.”

    See analysis here:

    https://johnpierceesq.com/fifth-circuit-court-of-appeals-clarifies-scope-of-preliminary-injunction-against-arm-brace-rule/

      • as may be.

        I still choose to donate to fpc, even though I don’t own any braced ar pistols.

      • They were not merely representing the interests of their own members. They have been representing the best interests of all of us, member (at the beginning) or not.

        The wording of the judge’s order is vague enough to cover those who join later.

        • And to say otherwise would require another court case to hash that out, thereby gaining more donations for FPC and draining the adversaries capacities while buying time.

          While .gov does have basically unlimited money, they don’t have unlimited lawyers to keep on the original case. Generating side-cases divides the resources they do have. It might not dilute them much, but at least someone’s trying to do it and setting up the playbook for doing it to Lefties who aren’t the government.

          Whenever possible, make your adversary defend as many positions as possible. As the FCC proved with CB radio (validating Cloward and Piven), it is possible to overwhelm government with such a tactic.

          Plus it keeps them in the news and every loss is a PR problem for them.

        • “vague enough…”

          I dunno. “have represented since day one of this litigation” seems pretty much as clear as “shall not be infringed” to me…

      • Who cares? Not like the atf is out there busting people at ranges for their brace anyway?

        • The illegal unconstitutional rule doesn’t go in to effect until tomorrow. You want to be the test case?

        • Muckraker is right. “Win” or lose, a felony arrest ends life as you know it. ATF mostly regulates businesses, but state and local LE bother ordinary citizens about regulatory administrivia all day, every day.

          Whether you earn fast promotions or slack off at work, someone won’t like it. Buying or selling something big? Somebody would like leverage over you. Do you have a thousand-acre or private island range? Do all relationships last forever or end amicably? Do children never say childish, impulsive things without considering long-term consequences?

    • Who cares?

      At least someone is finally engaging in Lefty style lawfare and PR back at these people after watching the Left do the same sort of shit for decades and get away with it.

      I’m kinda tired of the Right looking at the sword that’s cutting them to pieces and then dishonestly claiming the moral high ground for not getting their own sword.

    • Others have a different view of the language. E.g., the extension of the injunction to Maxim Defense’s customers makes no sense if limited to only past customers — the whole point of the injunction is that Maxim is out of business unless it remains able to sell to NEW customers, who clearly were not “customers” when the suit was filed. See the footnote — one judge essentially dissented, saying it should not be extended to new customers, which evidences that the majority of the merits panel felt differently.

      But I recognize that reasonable legal minds can differ on this, and that prudence dictates that new FPC members get their own legal advice from their own attorney before assuming anything.

      To me, the more important question is who would be covered by any *permanent* relief that may ultimately be granted by the district court. (If none ever is, it’s a moot point.) I think it’s clear that that anyone who is an FPC member at *that* time would be covered, and that could have very positive implications for FPC members living in unfriendly circuits.

  3. FPC is the organization gun owners really need.

    I gave them a hefty donation just for the fact that they replied directly to a Joe Biden tweet about banning “assault weapons” with a message noted that they’ll sue and win AND ended it by saying “Fuck you, no”.

    More balls on whoever runs their Twitter account than in the entire NRA for the past 50 years.

    Filing all these lawsuits they keep winning doesn’t hurt either.

    • Ditto. I made a large lump sum donation to them last year, and I also set up a monthly recurring donation. FPC has the correct attitude about all of this. Their “take no prisoners” style is entirely appropriate.

      • By your donation logic you should send flowers and a hefty donation to POTUS GW BUSH for letting the clintoon/biden assault weapon ban Sunset.

        If the FPC was what you preceive it to be they would have said, unless all Americans are covered it’s No Deal and end it there. Instead the FPC use fear of the ATF deadline as a money grab. Skittish individuals joining on that premise might as well surrender and put the $20 towards a brace permission slip.

        FPC et al will not see a dime of my money until Gun Control and its History of Rot shares the hot seat in what has been lopsided court cases against The Second Amendment.

        • So… you’re of the opinion that the plaintiff in a case gets to make some sort of deal with the judge as to the judges ruling?

          I must have missed a few Law & Order episodes.

          Also, $20 towards the “permission slip” fee? Uh, the ATF is waiving the tax stamp price as part of this Trojan Horse move of theirs… so… there is no fee if you’re a good little bootlicker and comply on time.

          Seriously, if you’re gonna be obnoxious, at least be partly correct.

        • “Instead the FPC use fear of the ATF deadline as a money grab.”
          Are you fucking kidding? They are fighting for us. I just kicked in 100 bucks. Whether I’m covered in this suit or not it is a damn worthwhile endeaver. You’re the one always saying put up or shut up. Fork over some cash! Do it to stop the history of rot. If not you then who?

        • JFC, woman. Ever hear “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good?”

          If you’re a cheapass and don’t want to donate, that’s your business. Otherwise STFU.

        • Once again, Lil’ Debbie shows that she knows NOTHING about the law or legal process.

          You can’t file a civil lawsuit and demand “relief for all Americans.” There’s a concept known as standing that any first year law student knows: that subject to certain exceptions (like associational standing), you can’t file a lawsuit to vindicate the rights of / obtain relief for nonparties — you must have an actual injury or interest that the suit seeks to vindicate, and that’s as far as the Court can go. This is really basic stuff.

          She’s beginning to remind me of Trofim Lysenko, the imfamous Soviet pseudoscientist who lacked even knowledge of even basic science, but who would loudly denounce those who did as a way of deflecting from his own ignorance and inadequacies. Here, why should Debbie worry about understanding fundamental legal concepts like standing, jurisdiction, ripeness, and other pithy issues when she can just reduce everything to “the history of gun control is racist”?

  4. It would be much cheaper and would probably save more lives to just get rid of the NFA, GCA and all other “gun control” measures that do nothing except make citizens felons for no good reason. Then the ATF could become AT.

    • How would our benevolent overlords keep us complacent, divided, and depressed if they actually went after alcohol and tobacco manufacturers and sellers the way they go after gun manufacturers and sellers?

    • We’d all be better off if they focused on regulating and harassing the porn industry a fraction as much as they harass the firearms industry. Obscenity is NOT protected by the First Amendment. The porn industry is helping to fuel the current trans ideology craze. Does anyone think it will end there? Look at the current trajectory. The powers that be are all in on that (degrading our culture), so don’t expect much resistance from the government. They hate us.

      • Porn helps make men passive, depressed, and apathetic. It is profoundly harmful to society. It is a weapon that serves the purposes of our enemies.

        Firearm ownership promotes self reliance, independence, and a responsible citizenry.

        There is a reason that the powers that be promote the one and try to suppress the other.

        • I think you’re on to something there Art. I worry about how many males are porn addicted, with the 24 hr phone access and all. That’s a bad door to open.

  6. WHO is throwing Bruen at the feds GCA1968 and NFA? Both are clearly unConstitutional under Bruen. Stop nibbling around the edges and hit the progs between the eyes.

    • As long as their ideology is allowed to exist. It will continue to attack and deny law abiding citizens 2A Constitutional Rights. Regardless of any decision rendered by the Courts. Including the Supreme Court. Just like with Terrorist and terminal diseases. They can’t be negotiated with or held at arms length. They must be destroyed with Extreme Prejudice, knowing full well that some healthy flesh may need to be sacrificed. In order to save the whole.

  8. “the Board granted an Individual Membership to all individual monetary donors of FPC who have supported FPC’s activities through financial contribution(s) of…”

    Ah Ha!

    I was right. You were not automatically a member simply by being a one time donation in the past, ’cause they are only now granting a membership if you one time donated $20.00 or more in the past.

  9. Coming up next…. the ATF will subpoena FPC membership list and then use it to track gun owners and maybe visit just for the harassment factor under the pretense of ‘verification as to your membership’..

    Hey! Dont laugh. Da Biden is desperate enough to do it so it could happen.

    😀

    • No one is laughing about anything like that anymore. We all get it. At some point we’ll have to do something about it.

    • “Da Biden is desperate enough to do it so it could happen.”

      Well, he is hiring his own Fifty Cent Army…. so… yeah, maybe. You can practically smell the DNC’s desperation at this point.

      Mention RFK’s polling numbers on a Lefty site and watch heads explode. It’s delicious.

      The darker side of me sort of hopes that the DNC (as a general entity) loses so badly in 2024 that Lefties do us all a favor and, fearing some sort of entirely imagined horror of living under a system they don’t fully control, go all Laderan Banadero about it.

      I’d probably let myself LOL over that.

        • I don’t make a prediction on that this far out.

          That said, there’s a bunch of stuff arrayed against the GOP which most of its members are obviously oblivious to. If that continues, then yeah, lacking a ground game in a situation where the rules have been changed to favor ground game intensely, I wouldn’t expect a good outcome. In fact, an outright loss wouldn’t surprise me.

          But that’s not the current set of conditions. Several people are working on serious, multi-state ground games for the purple states and the people doing it are, for once, competent.

          Which is probably why the eGOP hates them.

    • Pffft.

      Already in the NFA database, bought most of my hardware via FFLs, and have a carry permit. The government already knows who I am and has more than enough info to figure out where I stand on this stuff.

      • Besides all that, we all post comments here. We use nicknames, but they surely know who we are ☺️

      • It’s not about those of us who already voluntarily joined the NFA list.

        The problem is adding those who are being placed their against their will. Sure you can argue that they were already on a list due to the firearm purchase in the first place, but that’s not really the point.

  10. I thought that the entire reason the FPC didn’t have a membership list was to avoid giving the Feds a national list of gunm owners who can then be harassed by the ATF and have their gunms confiscated by the government.
    Oops!

    • There’s some pretty good caselaw that bars the government from demanding / seizing donor or membership lists.

      However, as a couple of people have pointed out, most of us PotG are already “in the system” so much that being on one more list isn’t going to matter.

  11. I’ve been a member for several years as FPC does good work and is worth supporting. No giveaways except patches, no prizes, all of your money is focused on suits like this one, and you aren’t supporting Wayne LaPierre’s lifestyle or mistress!

    • No giveaways …

      Well, that’s a pretty nice custom Glock they are offering as a prize on their JoinFPC webpage, just saying.

      Of course, they are still an organization worthy of our financial support.

  13. No need for a three letter Federal agency to compile a list of gun owners in my almost exclusively rural county, just get a list of registered voters!

  14. Seems to me the Judge(s) ignored the “Equal Protection Under the Law” Clause in the 14th Amendment.
    Granting Protection only to one group, but denying it to others based solely on membership to the protected group is Unconstitutional.

    • If he did that in the final ruling, you’d be right, but while things are in-process extending protections to the parties to the case is pretty much standard procedure.

    • No, it’s not. This is a civil lawsuit. The court can grant relief only to the parties before it (including by associational standing).

      The *holding* of that case may wind up being precedent the ties the ATF’s hands, and/or may otherwise provide others with relief as a side effect (e.g., by declaring the rule unconstitutional and ordering that it be invalidated). But as far as injunctive relief, that’s only going to be in favor of the parties before the court. That doesn’t even implicate equal protection, much less violate it.

  15. Minimum donation for membership when I went to join just not was $30, not $20 as stated in the article.

    And the time stamp on my donation member ship fee was listed relative to UTC, 7 hours ahead of my local, making me NOT a member on 5/31/23!

    I know it probably doesn’t actually protect me being in the 9th, not 5th, Circuit but I’m looking at it as a donation for the suit.

  16. Whether you are in the 4th circuit or not, (I am not.) or whether you have a brace or not, (I don’t.) support FPC. Join GOA, and SAF too.

    • FEDERAL JUDGE CLARIFIES SAF MEMBERS PROTECTED BY PISTOL BRACE INJUNCTION > https://www.saf.org/federal-judge-clarifies-saf-members-protected-by-pistol-brace-injunction/ (dated 31 May 2023)

      “In her prior order granting the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle wrote, ‘The Court grants in part the Motion and issues a preliminary injunction as to Plaintiffs in this case only,’ leaving a question as to whether the injunction applied to members of SAF. Late yesterday, SAF filed a motion to clarify the scope of the injunction. Today, Judge Boyle clarified the prior order with a new order and in a docket entry which stated, ‘The Court confirms that its Preliminary Injunction Order applies to both the Second Amendment Foundation, Inc. and its members.’ “

      GOA, GOF, State of Texas Secure Preliminary Injunction Against Biden Pistol Brace Ban > https://www.gunowners.org/goa-gof-state-of-texas-secure-preliminary-injunction-against-biden-pistol-brace-ban/ (dated 31 May 2023)

      “Washington, D.C. – This evening, Judge Drew B. Tipton issued a preliminary injunction against the Biden Pistol Brace Ban in a lawsuit brought by Gun Owners of America (GOA), the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), and the State of Texas. This injunction applies to all members of Gun Owners of America and individuals employed directly by the State of Texas or its agencies.”

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