The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has decided that ATF's Final Rule determining that most pistols with stabilizing braces are short-barreled rifles is arbitrary and capricious. The case is Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc. v. Garland ("FRAC"), decided on August 9 and authored by Judge Steven Grasz.
The decision is filled with illustrations, beginning with a shooter with the brace's strap wrapped around his forearm and a cuff further supporting the forearm. The device facilitates holding a heavy pistol with one hand. At the peak of their popularity in 2020, there were seven million braces owned by the public. Untold numbers were sold between then and when the Final Rule was published in 2023. ATF previously said the braces are legal. However, as the court notes, "The consequence of the ATF's about-face is that many individuals, relying on the ATF's previous classifications, were apparently committing felonies for years by possessing braced weapons."
The ATF rule's first step is to see if the rearward attachment of a brace "provides surface area that allows the weapon to be fired from the shoulder," but it gives no mathematical guidance as a standard. ATF implies that, if actual dimensions are set, cheaters will circumvent the rule. The court responds: "That the regulated parties wish to see more specific metrics does not mean they wish to skirt or circumvent the law, as ATF insinuates. They may simply wish to comply with the law, by producing or equipping stabilizing braces that do not have a rear surface area that allows for shoulder firing a weapon."
