North Dakota’s two U.S. senators and the U.S. representative whose district includes Wilkin County, Minnesota, are among the sponsors of a brief they say will “support the Second Amendment.”
Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., announced the brief sponsored by both senators and representatives. It will uphold the rights of all Americans to keep and bear arms, the senators stated.
“(This includes) veterans and disabled individuals who need assistance to exercise their rights,” Cramer and Blackburn stated. “(We and our colleagues believe) the Second Amendment is a fundamental protection of liberty which is deeply rooted in our nation’s history and tradition.”
According to Cramer’s office, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced a final rule reclassifying pistols with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles.
“This change subjects purchasers of these pistols – often people with disabilities or in need extra stability to safely use the weapon – to a burdensome regulatory scheme. The amicus brief states the rule infringes Americans’ Second Amendment liberties, and Congress did not grant ATF the authority to criminalize the exercise of a constitutional right,” the senator stated.
A challenge to ATF’s final rule was filed in district court by the Firearms Regulator Accountability Coalition (FRAC), based in Bismarck, North Dakota. According to Cramer’s office, the district court denied the request for a preliminary injunction. As of Monday, Nov. 27, FRAC has filed an emergency appeal in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sponsors of the brief say the rule is “especially concerning for Americans with disabilities or otherwise lacking physical strength to comfortably fire pistols, including veterans.”
“The Second Amendment protects the rights of all law-abiding adult citizens — not just the strong and able-bodied,” the brief states. “ATF’s Rule threatens that guarantee in a way that Congress never authorized.”
It is for Congress, not ATF, to decide whether to regulate pistol braces, according to the legislators. As Nov. 27, the brief has 69 cosigners, all Republicans. The signers include Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn District 7.
