Appeals Court Rules Against ATF’s Pistol Brace Ban

A federal appeals court in North Dakota has found that a rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) that restricts ownership of pistol attachments known as stabilizing braces is “arbitrary and capricious,” ordering a lower court to reconsider a motion that would block enforcement of the brace ban.
“The Final Rule, as a whole, is arbitrary and capricious because it allows the ATF to arrive at whatever conclusion it wishes without ‘adequately explain[ing] the standard on which its decision is based,’” the majority opinion states. “Thus, we conclude the Coalition is likely to succeed on the merits of its challenge.”
The states and other plaintiffs sued the ATF in February 2023, with U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in North Dakota declining to grant their motion for a preliminary injunction and block the rule. Arguing that they were unlikely to succeed on the merits, Hovland found that ATF had adequately explained its rulemaking process.
The majority on the Eighth Circuit disagreed, and in their Aug. 9 decision ordered Hovland to reconsider the plaintiffs’ motion for a injunction that would block enforcement of the ATF rule.
“The Court finds that the adaptation of the Final Rule was arbitrary and capricious for two reasons,” O’Connor wrote. “First, the Defendants did not provide a detailed justification for their reversal of the agency’s longstanding position. And second, the Final Rule’s standards are impermissibly vague.”
The judge granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and ordered the rule vacated.
The ATF told The Epoch Times that it had no comment on the Eighth Circuit ruling.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who were among the 25 attorneys general who challenged the ATF rule, praised the ruling.
Short-barreled rifles are subject to more strict regulations under the National Firearms Act (NFA), with those found in possession of unregistered NFA firearms can face fines of up to $10,000, 10 years in prison, and a felony conviction that disqualifies them from future firearm ownership.
The rule faced pushback from Republicans and gun-rights groups such as the National Rifle Association, which pointed out they were originally designed for disabled veterans.
The rule faced several legal challenges. In one of the lawsuits, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals determined in August 2023 that the rule was finalized without giving the public a meaningful chance to comment on it, in violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which sent the case to O’Connor in Texas, who in June this year vacated the rule, setting up a possible U.S. Supreme Court appeal.
The number of Americans affected by the ATF’s brace rule is difficult to determine. The ATF estimates that 3 million pistol braces have been sold. Second Amendment advocates say the number is closer to 40 million.