District Judge Drew B. Tipton issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF’s) AR-pistol stabilizer brace rule.
Plaintiffs in the case, Texas v. ATF, were the State of Texas, Gun Owners of America (GOA), the Gun Owners Foundation, and Brady Brown.
Breitbart News reported the ATF’s AR-pistol stabilizer brace rule was published in the federal registry January 31, 2023, targeting braces that are attached to pistols for the purposes of the stabilizing the gun. Such braces were first approved by the ATF as a tool that wounded combat vets could use to steady their pistols and continue to exercise their Second Amendment rights after coming home from deployment.
The ATF’s stabilizer brace rule give owners of said braces 120 days to do one of the following:
• Scenario 1: Turn in the entire firearm with the attached “stabilizing brace” to ATF;
• Scenario 2: Destroy the whole firearm;
• Scenario 3: Convert the short-barreled rifle into a long-barreled rifle;
• Scenario 4: Apply to register the weapon under the NFA; or
• Scenario 5: Permanently remove and dispose of, or alter, the “stabilizing brace” from the firearm so that it cannot be reattached.
The plaintiffs in Texas v. ATF argued the AR-pistol stabilizer brace rule “is unconstitutional and violates the Administrative Procedure Act. …Plaintiffs seek a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining the Defendants from enforcing the Final Rule until the conclusion of this case.”
Judge Tipton responded by granting “in part” a preliminary injunction the night before the ATF’s stabilizer brace rule was set to take effect. The injunction applies to all members of GOA and individuals employed directly by the State of Texas or its agencies.
Moreover, Tipton made clear that “the preliminary injunction will remain in effect pending resolution of the expedited appeal in Mock v. Garland.” (Mock v. Garland is the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.)
GOA’s senior vice president Erich Pratt commented in Tipton’s decision: “We are incredibly grateful to Judge Tipton for hearing the pleas of our members who were facing serious prosecution simply for owning a piece of plastic – all because of an arbitrary reclassification by the ATF. GOA and our millions of members nationwide will continue to fight back against this rogue anti-gun administration at every turn in defense of our rights.”
The case is Texas v. ATF, No. 6:23-cv-00013 in the United States District Court Southern District of Texas, Victoria Division.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010. and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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