Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

Brace Yourself: ATF Reconsiders Obama-Era Policy on Stabilizing Braces

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Brace Yourself: ATF Reconsiders Obama-Era Policy on Stabilizing Braces

News broke this week that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has reconsidered and “clarified” its Jan. 6, 2015 Open Letter on the use of stabilizing braces as shoulder stocks.

As we explained at the time, the ATF took the position in that letter that merely affixing the stabilizing brace to a pistol did not constitute the “making” of an NFA firearm. Firing the braced pistol from the shoulder, however, was held to constitute a “redesign” of the firearm that brought it under the jurisdiction of the National Firearms Act (NFA), with all the additional regulations that classification entails.

This directly contradicted earlier advice the ATF had provided, in which the agency stated, “firing a pistol from the shoulder would not cause the pistol to be reclassified as an SBR.” Nor, advised the ATF in the earlier guidance, would using a stability brace improperly as a shoulder stock “change the classification of the weapon per federal law.”

ATF’s latest guidance on the matter was provided in response to a request by stabilizing brace manufacturer SB Tactical to reconsider the position taken in the Jan. 6, 2015 Open Letter. It was not issued as an open letter, rather as a direct response to SB Tactical’s outside counsel from ATF’s Assistant Director of Enforcement Programs and Services, Marvin G. Richardson.

The letter – dated March 21, 2017 – appears aimed at reconciling ATF’s past positions. It notes that the NFA defines a regulated firearm to include “a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length.” The law further defines a “rifle” as “a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder … .” In general, the letter indicates, “a pistol with a barrel less than 16 in length and an attached shoulder stock is an NFA ‘firearm.’”

The new letter maintains the position that “the use of stabilizing braces, as designed, would not create a short-barreled rifle when attached to a firearm.”

But it then goes on to clarify that “an NFA firearm has not necessarily been made … even if the attached firearm happens to be fired from the shoulder.”

Rather, the ATF will employ “both objective and subjective analyses” to determine the legal significance of the attachment of a brace to a pistol and its subsequent use as a shoulder stock.

In particular:

If … the shooter/possessor takes affirmative steps to configure the devise for use as a shoulder stock— for example, configuring the brace so as to permanently affix it to the end of a buffer tube, (thereby creating a length that has no other purpose than to facilitate its use as a stock), removing the arm-strap, or otherwise undermining its ability to be used as a brace – and then in fact shoots the firearm from the shoulder using the accessory as a shoulder stock, that person has objectively ‘redesigned’ the firearm for purposes of the NFA.

Yet the letter goes on to state:

To the extent the January 2015 Open Letter implied or has been construed to hold that incidental, sporadic, or situational ‘use’ of an arm-brace (in its original approved configuration) equipped firearm from a firing position at or near the shoulder was sufficient to constitute ‘redesign,’ such interpretations are incorrect and not consistent with ATF’s interpretation of the statute or the manner in which it has historically been enforced.

The practical upshot of ATF’s clarification obviously leaves some room for interpretation.

What seems clear, however, is that attaching a stabilizing brace to a pistol expressly to create an SBR to fire from the shoulder – particularly when it involves alterations or processes that would undermine the use of the brace for its intended purpose of facilitating one-handed pistol fire – creates an NFA firearm.

On the other hand, ATF no longer takes the clearly untenable position that any shouldering of a braced pistol automatically constitutes the regulated “making” of an NFA firearm.

This is good news for manufacturers and the gun-buying public alike and is a hopeful sign that commonsense and reason – rather than Obama-era antigun politics– will again be the watchwords for ATF’s enforcement of federal firearms laws.

TRENDING NOW
Trump’s DOJ Will Participate in Oral Arguments in Illinois Semi-Auto Ban Case

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

Trump’s DOJ Will Participate in Oral Arguments in Illinois Semi-Auto Ban Case

Within six months of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision of NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022), Illinois disregarded the Court’s clear directives and enacted into law H.B. 5741, the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA). 

Armed Citizens: Not Just an American Concept

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

Armed Citizens: Not Just an American Concept

We frequently post stories about law-abiding citizens who, by exercising their rights protected under the Second Amendment, bring an end to violent criminal assaults.  

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

As U.S. shooting sports athletes prepare for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, New York law is burdening target shooters in the Empire State.

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Siegel v. Platkin, striking some of the carry restrictions New Jersey enacted in response to the NRA’s landmark Supreme Court victory, New York State Rifle & ...

“Sensitive Places” Embolden Criminals and Threaten the Law-abiding

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

“Sensitive Places” Embolden Criminals and Threaten the Law-abiding

A beyond horrific murder flashed before our eyes in recent weeks, and a nation collectively mourned Iryna Zarutska after the sickening attack that took her life on a public train in Charlotte, North Carolina

California: Legislature Adjourns with Anti-Gun Bills Headed to the Governor's Desk

Monday, September 15, 2025

California: Legislature Adjourns with Anti-Gun Bills Headed to the Governor's Desk

On Friday the California State Legislature adjourned the 2025 legislative session in typical California fashion, advancing anti-gun legislation to Governor Newsom's desk. Contact Governor Newsome today and urge his veto of AB 1078, AB 1127, AB ...

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

Pure gun control. As in disarmament and banning of firearms. It’s rare that anti-gunners get straight to the exact point that we have been warning of for decades. 

Colorado: CSSA Files Suit Challenging "Polis Permission Slip" Permit-to-Purchase Law

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Colorado: CSSA Files Suit Challenging "Polis Permission Slip" Permit-to-Purchase Law

Last week, the Colorado State Shooting Association (CSSA), the official state affiliate of NRA, filed a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 25-003...

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

Friday, September 12, 2025

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

On Monday, September 15th, the Minnesota Senate will hold a special working group on "gun violence prevention."

Florida: Miami Beach City Commission Considering Anti-Gun Resolution Tomorrow

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Florida: Miami Beach City Commission Considering Anti-Gun Resolution Tomorrow

Tomorrow, September 17, at 8:30 a.m., the Miami Beach City Commission will hold a public meeting to consider an anti-gun resolution. The resolution, proposed by Commissioner Alex Fernandez, directs the Office of the City Attorney ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.