JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Today, in an effort to defend Missourians and their constitutional rights, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that his office secured a win against the Biden-Harris Administration’s illegal attempt to ban pistol braces. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the unconstitutional rule is “arbitrary and capricious” and ordered the case remanded back to the district court to consider an injunction.
“As Attorney General, I will defend the Constitution every single time, especially when the Biden-Harris Administration moves to eradicate Missourians’ Second Amendment rights,” said Attorney General Bailey. “The Constitution was meant to be a floor, not a ceiling, for our God-given rights. We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard Missourians’ right to keep and bear arms against encroachment by unelected federal bureaucrats.”
In the decision, the Court held, “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) promulgated a final agency rule interpreting the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA). The Final Rule reclassifies pistols equipped with stabilizing braces (braced weapons) as NFA-regulated ‘short barreled rifles,’ which subjects those braced weapons to NFA/GCA regulation. The plaintiffs—a stabilizing-brace manufacturer, a firearm manufacturer, a gun association, an individual owner of braced weapons, and twenty-five states (collectively, the Coalition)—sued to enjoin the Final Rule, arguing it exceeds the ATF’s statutory authority under the NFA and GCA and is arbitrary and capricious. The district court denied the Coalition’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The Coalition appeals that denial. We conclude the Coalition is likely to succeed on the merits of its arbitrary-and-capricious challenge, so we reverse and remand to the district court.”
The ATF’s pistol brace rule burdens law-abiding gun-owners with additional regulations, including higher taxes, longer waiting periods, and registration. All told, millions of Americans have purchased stabilizing braces to achieve safer and more accurate firing, and now, any manufacturer, dealer, or individual that pairs a stabilizing brace with a pistol must comply with the National Firearms Act (NFA), or risk a felony weapons charge.
In his lawsuit, Attorney General Bailey noted that many pistol brace owners, including older persons, people with limited mobility and those with smaller stature, will be penalized by the rule. His lawsuit pointed out that “many lawful gun owners use stabilizers to prevent some recoil when using firearms ” to help with accuracy.
Joining Attorney General Bailey in the original lawsuit were the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The Court’s decision can be read here.
The original lawsuit can be read here.