Senator Schmitt Calls on ATF to Repeal Three Biden-Era Gun Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) wrote to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Deputy Director Robert Cekada to congratulate him on his nomination to lead the Bureau and follow-up on their discussion during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee urging him to repeal three major Biden-era gun rules that infringed law-abiding gunowners’ Second Amendment rights and exceeded ATF’s statutory authority.

“In the past, ATF often relied on Chevron Deference to expand its regulatory remit and restrict the liberties of law-abiding Americans. But, thankfully, the era of deference to the administrative state is over. It is time for the ATF to adjust its regulations accordingly. I therefore strongly encourage the ATF to repeal the Biden-era Frame or Receiver Rule, Stabilizing Brace Rule, and ‘Engaged in the Business’ Rule. As I explained during the hearing, these rules exceeded the ATF’s statutory authority, threatened to turn law-abiding gunowners into felons overnight, and contained such vague standards that even those who tried to comply with them in good faith were left without sufficient notice of the scope of ATF’s mandates,” Senator Schmitt wrote.

Senator Schmitt is calling for the repeal of the following rules:

1. Frame or Receiver Rule: Biden’s ATF re-interpreted the Gun Control Act to cover weapons parts kits as well as any “partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional” “frame” or “receiver.” That re-interpretation usurped Congress’s legislative power and threatened to turn legal gunowners into felons overnight.
2. Stabilizing Brace Rule: Biden’s ATF re-interpreted “rifle” and “short-barreled” rifle under the National Firearms Act to include some pistols with stabilizing braces. Because possession of a non-compliant short-barreled rifle bears significant regulatory consequences, this rule imposed a significant burden on American gunowners. A federal court previously held that this rule was illegal because it was “arbitrary and capricious.” 
3. “Engaged in the Business” Rule: Biden’s ATF drastically expanded when an individual is “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms, and thus subject to the Gun Control Act’s regulations for licensed dealers. In this rule, the ATF violated Congress’ clear statutory instructions and imposed an unlawful burden on gunowners through a vague, difficult-to-comply-with regulation.

Read the full letter HERE.

Watch Senator Schmitt line of questioning HERE.

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