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U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- In 2019, According to sources at the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (BATF), the former Department Assistant Director of Enforcement Programs and Services, Curtis W Gilbert, discussed pistol braces at multiple meetings with other ATF employees. In his opinion, pistol braces, specifically the SB Tactical SBA4, are stocks.
He hinted that the ATF would take regulatory action against the devices designed to help disabled people use firearms.
The current Department Assistant Director of Enforcement Programs and Services Andrew Graham has also expressed hostility to pistol braces in internal ATF meetings with staff members. AmmoLand News sources believe that the ATF didn’t move on the pistol braces earlier because the agency didn’t think they had the political capital to regulate braces.
The ATF’s law enforcement side sent a cease and desist letter to Q, LLC, with the presidential election closing in next month. The agency targeted Q’s Honey Badger AR pistol equipped with a brace and a barrel less than 16 inches in length. The agency told Q that they believed that the AR pistol was a short-barreled rifle and violated the National Firearms Act (NFA).
Many believe that the ATF used its enforcement side of the Bureau because the Department of Justice blocked the agency’s industry side from making a move on the legality of pistol braces.
Q, LLC is the only company to go public that the ATF sent it a cease and desist letter over a firearm with a pistol brace. Multiple sources have confirmed that the ATF has served additional companies with similar cease and desist letters. The ATF believes that certain manufactures have pushed past the legal boundaries of what is considered a pistol brace.
While AmmoLand News was able to verify that the ATF has recently sent out letters to other manufacturers it has not obtained the names of the targeted companies. It is not clear if these companies have received their cease and desist letters or if they will get the same 60-day stay as Q, LLC. The ATF suspended the Honey Badger’s cease and desist letter for 60 days.
It seems ATF heads in Washington DC, do not like the increased public attention on the agency’s erratic actions on the pistol braces in question. When asked ATF agents and employees are not permitted to comment or answer questions on pistol braces’ legality.
The Whitehouse and the Department of Justice are well aware of the public outrage over the ATF’s arbitrary decision on the devices. Gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, and the Firearms Policy Coalition have put immense pressure on the federal government to reign in what they see as the rogue agency.
?? ACTION NEEDED ??
Urge Trump to rein in his wayward ATF, which recklessly reclassified the Honey Badger Pistol as an SBR. Tell the President to publicly denounce the ATF’s new regulations reclassifying the Honey Badger pistol as an SBR.
??SPEAK UP ?? https://t.co/zBcoDuGgBp— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) October 7, 2020
Curtis W Gilbert is now the Assistant Director for The Office of Public Government Affairs. AmmoLand News has several FOIA requests with the ATF over pistol braces. Any companies that received a cease and desist letter from the ATF is asked to contact AmmoLand to speak on or off the record.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.