Wash. County sheriff won't enforce ATF gun rule
Washington County Sheriff Scott Owen announced Wednesday that his department won't enforce a new federal rule regarding short-barreled weapons with stabilizing braces.
"To be clear, should any of our deputies come into contact with law-abiding citizens possessing/owning any short-barreled weapons with a 'stabilizing brace' or other rearward attachments, we will take no action unless the weapon is used in the commission of a crime," he said in a news release posted to the department's Facebook page.
Owen joins other county sheriffs throughout Oklahoma that have refused to enforce the new rule signed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in January. The rule requires citizens who use a "stabilizing brace" for a pistol to register it with the government.
Citing Oklahoma's Second Amendment Sanctuary Act, Owen said "we will not enforce any 'rules' established by the [U.S.] Department of Justice that violates a citizen's rights."
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF), nothing in the new rule bans stabilizing braces or the use of stabilizing braces on pistols.
In announcing the new rule, ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said stabilizing braces allow users to essentially convert pistols into short-barreled rifles, which are required to be registered with the federal government under the National Firearms Act.
This rule simply brings the enhanced weapon into compliance with federal law, he said.
“This rule enhances public safety and prevents people from circumventing the laws Congress passed almost a century ago. In the days of Al Capone, Congress said back then that short-barreled rifles and sawed-off shotguns should be subjected to greater legal requirements than most other guns. The reason for that is that short-barreled rifles have the greater capability of long guns, yet are easier to conceal, like a pistol,” Dettelbach said. “But certain so-called stabilizing braces are designed to just attach to pistols, essentially converting them into short-barreled rifles to be fired from the shoulder. Therefore, they must be treated in the same way under the statute.”
Owen said the Washington County Sheriff's Office stands with its colleagues in Tulsa, Rogers, Osage, Logan and other sheriffs and law enforcement "across this great state in defense of our rights."
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Wash. County sheriff won't enforce ATF gun rule
