DOJ Asks More Time to Process Comments on Proposed Arm Brace Rule
Nine months after the Second Amendment Foundation sued the Department of Justice and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in federal court over ATF’s flip on how it regulates stabilizing braces on pistols, the DOJ and SAF jointly asked for a continuation of a stay in the legal action to allow processing of more than 211,000 public comments on a proposed rule on “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces.”
The process is expected to require more than four months.
Under the original proposal, guns with stabilizing braces would suddenly be regulated under the National Firearms Act the same as short-barreled rifles. That would require a special license and $200 fee for each firearm fitted with a brace. Without the special license and fee, guns fitted with the stabilizing braces would be illegal to own.
Back on May 4, the court granted an agreed motion for a stay, which was extended on June 15, after the defendants published the proposed rule in the Federal Register seeking public comment. The comment period was 90 days, during which time the agency was flooded with comments.
According to a Joint Status Report filed with the court, it will take more than 120 days for the DOJ to process all the responses. All parties agreed to the delay, according to SAF and have requested that they be allowed to file another Joint Status Report on or before Jan. 19, 2022. Read more