Feb. 13—MORGANTOWN — State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is leading a 25-state coalition in a lawsuit challenging a new federal rule governing pistol braces.

The states are suing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and its director. The case is in the North Dakota U.S. District Court, Western Division.

It seeks to enjoin a recently issued final rule governing "Stabilizing Braces, " commonly known as pistol braces.

"This is going to take a lot of work. This administration is hell bent on going after your Second Amendment rights. We have to stop them, " he said at a press conference announcing the suit.

The rule, he said, will make it more expensive and more difficult to own weapons that are safe to use, he said. "This represents a sea change and we're not going to let it happen."

Rob Miller, a Putnam County disabled veteran who uses pistol braces to help hold and steady his guns, talked about them during the press conference.

He explained that braces were designed by a veteran who was shooting at a range with a disabled colleague. The range master stopped for safety reasons, because the disabled veteran couldn't control his gun well enough.

Art Thomm, with the National Rifle Association, called the new rule an "egregious regulatory attack on law-abiding gun owners."

All three said this is another instance of the Biden Administration bypassing congress to make new laws through unelected bureaucrats.

ATF approved the braces in 2012. But, the suit says, "Frustrated with congressional inaction, the president of the United States ordered ATF to abandon a decade of practice under an established statutory framework and 'to treat pistols modified with stabilizing braces' as 'subject to the National Firearms Act.'"

This will require an owner of a pistol equipped with a stabilizing brace to pay a $200 fee and submit their name and other identifying information to the Justice Department or face criminal penalties. The suit says Biden's express aim was to act "without having to go through the Congress."

ATF issued the rule on Jan. 31, the suit says, While it provides factoring criteria to clarify how ATF will determine whether any particular weapons configuration is subject to heightened regulation, the Rule in effect vests ATF with unbounded discretion. "And ATF has made clear exactly how it intends to exercise that discretion, estimating that, under the rule, 99 % of pistols equipped with stabilizing braces will now be deemed subject to National Firearms Act controls."

According to ATF, the suit says, the clarification will result in the destruction or forfeiture of over 750, 000 firearms and will cost the private sector somewhere between $2 billion and $5 billion.

The suit explains that Congress enacted the NFA to regulate sawed-off guns and other dangerous weapons favored by criminals for concealability and indiscriminate accuracy, and specifically left without any restriction pistols and revolvers and sporting arms.

But the rule, the suit says, regulates pistols and other firearms based on accessories designed as orthotics that make them less concealable, more accurate, and less dangerous, thereby undermining public safety.

Morrisey explained in a press release that the rule means those who use a stabilizing brace would have to apply for a permit with the ATF within four months, pay a tax and face restrictions on future transfer of the brace.

And while stabilizing braces were designed to help people with disabilities use pistols, many others, including older persons, people with limited mobility and those with smaller stature have come to use the braces. And many lawful gun owners use stabilizers to prevent some recoil when using firearms and to help with accuracy.

The suit says, "This Court should not let ATF's unlawful actions stand and must set aside the Rule and Adjudications.

Neighbors Kentucky and Virginia are among the 25 states in the coalition. Several gun owner groups and one individual are also plaintiffs: Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition Inc., an advocacy group ; SB Tactical, a brace manufacturer ; B &T USA, a firearms importer and manufacturer ; and Richard Cicero, a retired police firearms instructor who was wounded and uses stabilizing braces.

Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard @dominionpost.com