Bradenton, Fla. (December 17, 2020) – SB Tactical® learned on December 16 of the ATF’s plan to publish their proposed ‘Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with Stabilizing Braces’ guidance on www.federalregister.gov/d/2020-27857, which will be open for comment on Friday, December 18, 2020 until January 1, 2021.
Our hope was that ATF would finally take transparent action to provide clear criteria for brace equipped pistols, that would give manufacturers and consumers a way to see if products met ATF’s shifting expectations. Instead, the document is a thinly veiled blueprint for the largest firearm registration–and ultimately potentially confiscation– scheme in U.S. history.
The factors identified by the ATF for its possible use in classification include type, caliber, weight and length, how the gun is marketed, length of pull, sights and scopes, peripheral accessories mounted, and rear surface area of the brace, among others. While the factors listed are arbitrary and open-ended, the truly onerous part of the proposal is that no definitions of the factors are provided.
The grotesque inadequacies of this document render this “guidance” worse than meaningless. By stating that “no single factor or combination of factors is necessarily dispositive,” the regulated public is left guessing. Which calibers are ok? What is the weight or length of pull limit? What accessories can be mounted on a pistol? By failing to define the criteria, the ATF is codifying its holistic “we’ll know it when we see it” approach to determinations that create confusion and serve as little more than a power grab. It does nothing other than create uncertainty and confirm that ATF does not want to be held accountable. It claims limitless power to assess products under a “holistic” approach that gives the agency maximum discretion and Americans minimum protection.
This proposed guidance says that it does not have the effect and force of law . . . yet. SB Tactical®, in conjunction with the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc., (FRAC), and the National Rifle Association, will continue to work tirelessly with congressional leadership, the White House, and the Department of Justice to ensure that legal gun owners’ rights and the rights of manufacturers are not in jeopardy. We believe that the White House is considering weighing in on this issue, but they will not do so unless we make our voices heard. The time is now to come together as a community of gun owners, retailers, and manufacturers to demand that President Trump preserve our Second Amendment rights.
This is our last chance to get this administration to intervene. We strongly urge you to contact the White House to demand they take swift action to stop and reverse ATF’s efforts to issue arbitrary and capricious decisions affecting millions of legal gun owners.
• One-Click Link to Contact the White House, DOJ, and your Congressional representatives:
o www.fracaction.org/contact-officials
• White House Comment Line:
o (202) 456-1111 / Email
• Donate to FRAC, the organization that is standing up against the ATF’s arbitrary and capricious determinations:
o secure.fracaction.org/donate
Additionally, once the guidance formally posts to the Federal Register on Friday, December 18, we encourage you to submit commentary to the ATF and express your frustration and confusion. This is important to ensure a full record before the agency and any later court that reviews this issue. But, because the ATF seems to want to limit participation in this proceeding, it has created complicated rules and deadlines. To submit comments in the DOJ proceeding you will need to follow the instructions below. Comments that do not follow the below instructions, will not be considered.
DUE DATE: Written comments must be postmarked by, and electronic comments must be submitted on or before January 1, 2021 by midnight Eastern time.
INSTRUCTIONS: All submissions received must include the agency name (ATF) and docket number (ATP 2020R-10). All properly completed comments received will be posted without change to the Federal eRulemaking portal, www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Comments must have a full name, mailing address, and signature.
Commenters who do not want their name or other personal identifying information posted on the Internet should submit comments by mail or facsimile, along with a separate cover sheet containing their personal identifying information. Both the cover sheet and comment must reference this docket number (ATP 2020R-10).
Comments that contain excessive profanity will not be considered or responded to.
SUBMISSIONS: Starting December 18, you may submit comments in one of three ways:
1. Online-Federal eRulemaking Portal: ATF recommends that you submit your comments to ATF via the Federal eRulemaking portal at www.federalregister.gov/d/2020-27857 and follow the instructions. Please keep the comment tracking number that is provided after you have successfully uploaded your comment.
2. Mail:
Written comments must:
a. Appear in minimum 12-point font size (.17inches)
b. Include the commenter’s first and last name and full mailing address
c. Be signed
Send written comments to the following address:
Office of Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Programs and Services, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
ATTN: ATF 2020R-J0
Mail Stop 6N- 518
99 New York Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20226
3. Facsimile:
Faxed comments must:
a. Be legible and appear in minimum 12-point font size (.17 inches) b. Be on 81?2″x11″paper
c. Include the commenter’s first and last name and full mailing address
d. Be signed
e. Be no more than five pages long
I hope everyone can see what is going on. Yes, this is a way for your voice to be heard as it should. But since this fiasco has started, there has not been even one time where our submissions changed or stopped this onslaught. It’s sad that this day in America is upon us. Will the strong men stand up or …..? Stay Vigilant.
855 is a good example of it working. Combined with other avenues… Important to make every effort.
I know this is not a political website. It’s about goddamn time you finally posted some thing about what’s going on in this country. A lot of your readership is preparing for internal conflict. North Idaho will not bow to the ATF. We have history. We will never forget.
Plot twist: You make your comments known to them and it’s met with IRS problems and visits by Black Suburbans. I can see that happening in the coming times. At the ground, tactical level, our law enforcement at the local and fed levels are manned by great Americans. It’s the administrative and command levels that are the problem. Weak men who have no spine and live a life a softness and luxuries who don’t give a shit about any of us. Take care y’all.
The correct docket number is: ATF 2020R-10 and not ATP 2020R-10 as mentioned in the article.
Here is by far the most interesting point:
To the extent that the ATF Director subsequently issues such a determination, the ATF Director, at the direction of the Attorney General, plans retroactively to exempt such firearms from the collection of NFA taxes
The above is a waste of time, akin to German Jews filing complaints with the Sturmabteilung in 1932. They’re coming for YOU, America, not your guns. The ATF is no different than the FBI, Supreme Court, Mark Esper, CNN, or General Mattis, either they’re working with the Democrats to turn the United States into a Marxist satrapy of the ChiComs, and impose International-Global Socialism through deceit and establish a police state through deception and election fraud, or too stupid and cowardly to realize they are complicit in the plot.
After over 300,000 comments the ATF stopped pursuing reclassifying M855 as armor-piercing ammunition.
I believe that this completely contradicts five years worth of precedence and would personally believe that the text above is arbitrary and unconstitutional to the American people’s rights. This is an attempt for all people to register their guns, especially, under the new election and the changes that may be made. This is a direct infringement upon our rights and I feel as if it is seriously poorly written and there is no clear distinction on what is legal and what isn’t.