By Joselyn King, The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Justice plans to regulate pistols in stabilizing braces under the same rules as sawed-off shotguns, and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said the state will join the fight against the new directive.
The “Stabilizing Braces” Final Rule, announced Jan. 13 by the Justice Department, clarifies that when manufacturers, dealers, and individuals use stabilizing braces to convert pistols into rifles with a barrel of less than 16 inches – commonly referred to as a short-barreled rifles – those weapons must comply with laws pertaining to short barreled rifles.
The modification allows the pistols to be fired by the shoulder, explained the ATF.
“This rule enhances public safety and prevents people from circumventing the laws Congress passed almost a century ago,” ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said when announcing the rule. “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…
To read more: https://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2023/02/morrisey-w-va-joining-effort-opposing-pistol-brace-regulations/
