The June 1 deadline for a new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule banning pistol straps is looming, and gun rights groups are making pressure on House Republican leaders to stage a vote to block it, giving Democrats who represent pro-gun signals a tough choice to make.
The new rule would make it a crime to possess an unregistered and commonly used plastic stabilizing splint designed for use with guns. Pistol slings were originally invented in 2012 to help veterans with disabilities shoot independently.
President Biden called the prop ‘particularly dangerous’ after it was used in several mass shootings
The new rule requires gun owners to register their gun straps with the ATF, destroy them, or remove accessories from their guns. Those who do not comply with the regulations by May 31 will be forced to pay a fee. The consequences for those who choose not to register their firearm with a stabilizing splint and keep it include up to 10 years in prison or a $10,000 fine or both, according to the ATF.
Semi-automatic handguns are displayed at a store in New Castle, Pennsylvania on March 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
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At least three million guns with stabilizer reinforcements are in circulation in the United States, according to the ATF. Estimates from the Congressional Research Service indicate that there are currently between 10 and 40 million stabilizer devices in circulation.
Earlier this year, Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., along with 188 Republican cosponsors, introduced a resolution disapproving of the rule under the U.S. code that dictates congressional oversight of agency regulation. The resolution passed the House Judiciary Committee, but has yet to be taken up by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for a full vote.
President Biden speaks during the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Baltimore on March 1, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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Gun Owners of America (GOA), a gun rights group that has also sued the government along with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, says the action by Republican lawmakers is a political opportunity to force a vote on vulnerable Democrats in gun-friendly states.
“With 189 House Republicans and 47 Senators already signed on to the measure to block this rule, pro-gun politicians have a great opportunity to force vulnerable Democrats to vote on whether Joe Biden can charge their constituents with crimes on June 1. , just to keep their legally acquired guns,” Aidan Johnston, GOA’s director of federal affairs, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
GOA also argues to lawmakers that even if President Biden were to veto the resolution, its passage could send a message to federal judges who are assessing whether the ATF overstepped its congressionally given authority.
“GOA Urges President to Fight Biden Gun Ban, Remind Courts Congress Did Not Authorize ATF’s Attack on Millions of Gun Owners, and Defend the Second Amendment against any breach,” Johnston added.
The resolution to block the rule is exempt from the filibuster rule and, therefore, would allow Senate Republicans to force a vote and seat several vulnerable Democratic lawmakers representing pro-gun states — like Senator Jon Tester in Montana, Sen. Joe Manchin in West Virginia and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona – in a precarious political position.
President Biden’s tenure in the White House has been marked by a consistent tone around the Second Amendment and guns. (Kevin Dietsch, Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
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On Wednesday, a Fifth Circuit Court panel issued a temporary injunction that narrowly stays the rule’s enforcement, following a separate lawsuit against the ATF.
A GOA spokesperson said that while this Fifth Circuit ruling is “encouraging,” “without a more comprehensive injunction from the judiciary, millions of Americans risk becoming criminals overnight on June 1.”
Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
