New ATF Gun-Brace Rule Would Create 40 Million Felons

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has proposed a set of criteria for distinguishing legal and illegal arm braces for pistols that would make roughly 40 million Americans into felons.

There is no evidence that pistol braces are especially favored by criminals. They aren’t really. Criminals tend to prefer guns that are much easier to conceal, and although short-barreled rifles are easier to conceal than long-barreled rifles, they aren’t particularly easy to hide on one’s person. That’s why criminals, in general, don’t use rifles at all. But lately, almost all the focus of gun regulation is on the features found on rifles.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review Online.

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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has proposed a set of criteria for distinguishing legal and illegal arm braces for pistols that would make roughly 40 million Americans into felons.

There is no evidence that pistol braces are especially favored by criminals. They aren’t really. Criminals tend to prefer guns that are much easier to conceal, and although short-barreled rifles are easier to conceal than long-barreled rifles, they aren’t particularly easy to hide on one’s person. That’s why criminals, in general, don’t use rifles at all. But lately, almost all the focus of gun regulation is on the features found on rifles.