The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled on Friday that the Biden administration’s effort to prohibit pistol braces was “arbitrary and capricious.” The federal appeals court found that the rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was deficient in clear standards, making it exceedingly difficult for people to ascertain whether their firearms adhered to the regulations after 25 Republican state attorneys general challenged the ATF’s rule.
Stabilizing braces were originally designed to assist individuals with disabilities in shooting handguns. However, certain designs can transform a handgun into a short-barreled, shoulder-fired rifle. The appellants argued that, under the ATF’s new rule, 99 percent of pistols equipped with a stabilizing brace would fall under the regulations of the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act.
States and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the ATF in February 2023. US District Judge Daniel Hovland in North Dakota chose not to suspend the rule while assessing their lawsuit, stating that they were unlikely to prevail because the ATF had sufficiently explained its rulemaking process.
However, Circuit Judge L. Steven Grasz noted on Friday that the ATF’s multi-factor test for evaluating braces, considering aspects such as design, marketing, and community use, was “arbitrary and capricious because it allows the ATF to arrive at whatever conclusion it wishes.” The panel directed Judge Hovland to reassess his decision. Friday’s ruling arrives one year after the Fifth Circuit came to a similar conclusion in a different case brought by gun rights groups challenging the same rule.
Senator Kevin Cramer was pleased with the decision saying, “Today’s ruling by the Eighth Circuit is a major victory for the United States Constitution and another major blow to this overbearing federal bureaucracy, particularly the Biden-Harris administration that tramples on our rights every single day.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-10 15:06:00
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