Nash County’s new state legislator is taking a stand against enforcement of a new rule that restricts the use of stabilizing braces for pistols, calling it an unconstitutional federal overreach even with a rash of mass shootings across the country.
Republican state Rep. Allen Chesser, sworn in to his first term in the new District 25 this month, sent a letter Monday to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) expressing “deep concern and opposition to their new rule restricting stabilizing braces for pistols."
A stabilizing brace is an attachment that turns some pistols into short-barreled rifles under the new rule. Chesser said the rule has the potential to unjustly affect millions of law-abiding citizens, including disabled veterans for whom stabilizing braces were originally designed.
The rule is being challenged in a number of federal court cases, but the ATF says it is calling for citizens to comply with the new rule voluntarily, even as far as surrendering their weapons.
