Chairman Thompson Commends ATF on New Rule Regulating Concealable Firearms
Today, Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task ForceRep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) released the following statement after the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Explosives, and Tobacco (ATF) closed a loophole in the National Firearms Act by issuing a final rule clarifying that pistols with stabilizing braces are short-barreled rifles.
“Shutting down loopholes that criminals use to modify easily concealable weapons to make them more dangerous is a no-brainer,” said Thompson. “Stabilizing braces allow criminals to make easily concealable weapons much more lethal, and we have seen the impact of these braces in shootings in Boulder and Dayton. The rule announced by ATF will address this loophole, help save lives, and make it more difficult to modify pistols into more dangerous weapons.”
This type of weapon was used on March 22, 2021, when a gunman killed 10 people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. The AR pistol brace attachment allowed the shooter to fire an easily concealable gun with rifle-like accuracy and firepower. A stabilizing brace was also used in the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, in which nine people were shot and killed in 2019.
In the 117th Congress, Chairman Thompson led the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force in calling on President Biden to take executive action to address this loophole.