Pistol Brace Rule Blocked by 5th Circuit Court Ruling

In a win for second amendment advocates, the Fifth Circuit District Court has struck down the pistol brace rule enacted by the ATF.

For those not aware of what a pistol brace is, here is some history. Several years ago a gentleman by the name of Alex Bosco invented a device to help a disabled vet friend fire a pistol with one hand. Commonly used on AR pistols, it attaches to the buffer tube to provide a place to secure the stock of the pistol to the forearm of the shooter. This helps to provide support, especially for those with only one hand or other issues preventing them from using a pistol effectively.

Mr. Bosco submitted his design to the ATF for approval, which they provided. After the pistol brace was approved, millions were sold.

Fast forward several years and the ATF arbitrarily changed their decision and deemed pistol braceswere no longer legal. Under the new rule, they changed the rule saying that adding a pistol brace effectively converted the pistol into a Short Barreled rifle (SBR). In their new rule, they gave owners of existing pistol braces options to comply with their new rule.

• Destroy the pistol brace (or the entire pistol)
• Turn in the weapon
• Register it as a SBR and pay the $200 tax stamp for each one owned

This past week the 5th Circuit Court ruled that the ATF had overreached their authority by enacting a rule rather than Congress enacting a law. The 5th Circuit Court ruling also included an injunction against the ATF for enforcing their rule, thus making pistol braces legal to own again.

While this is good news, don’t celebrate fully just yet. There is a very good chance the the ATF will appeal this decision to the Supreme Court. If they do, then the pistol brace injunction could be lifted, giving the ATF the opportunity to enforce their rule again until a final decision is reached. While the supreme court has been more friendly to 2A cases as of late, there are no guarantees.