Less Than 10 Percent of Pistol Braces Registered With ATF by Deadlin

Multiple lawsuits are pending as regulators mum on enforcement

By Michael Clements Updated: June 5, 2023

Only 255,162 of the millions of pistol-stabilizing braces known to be in civilian hands have been registeredwith the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by the May 31 deadline set by the agency.

“Possessors of such firearms were also provided the option to comply with the final rule by permanently removing and disposing of, or altering, the ‘stabilizing brace’ such that it could not be reattached or by destroying the firearm,” Erik Longnecker, deputy chief of the ATF’s Public Affairs Division, told The Epoch Times by email on June 3.

“ATF is unable to estimate the number of possessors of such firearmsthat used either of these methods to comply with the final rule. Likewise, we have no data currently available for the number of firearms abandoned to ATF.”

Pistol brace owners have been estimated at between 3 million and 40 million, so the number of registered owners is anywhere from 0.6 percent to 8 percent. This doesn’t consider the pistol brace owners covered by injunctions issued by federal judges. On Jan. 13, the ATF issued criteria for the firearms, outlining that pistol-stabilizing braces converted pistols into short-barreled rifles (SBR), which are regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968. That rule went into effect on Jan. 31.

At that time, the ATF set a 120-day amnesty period in which owners of pistols equipped with the devices could register them without paying the $200 NFA tax.The amnesty period expired on May 31. Owners of pistols with unregistered devices could be charged with a felony and face up to 10 years in prison, $10,000 in fines, or both.Longnecker wouldn’t elaborate on how the ATF would enforce the rule. “(ATF is) unable to comment due to ongoing litigation,” Longnecker’s email reads.

However, parties in at least three lawsuits are protected while their cases are being heard. The state of Tennessee will no longer regulate AR-15-based pistols, like these. However, state officials warn that federal regulators are writing rules for these weapons.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction just before the deadline, which has protected Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) members and Maxim Defense customers from the rule. Judges also issued injunctions in one lawsuit filed by the Second Amendment Foundation (pdf) and another lawsuit by Gun Owners of America (GOA), the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), and the state of Texas (pdf).

According to the FPC website, the court will hear oral arguments in its case, Mock v. Garland, on June 29.

FPC didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. Joining FPC as plaintiffs are Rainier Arms and individuals Samuel Walley and William Green. They’re suing the ATF, ATF Director Steve Dettelbach, the Department of Justice, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

On its website, GOA posted statements vowing to fight what the group considers an unconstitutional rule. The GOF called on Congress to take action to rein in the ATF.

“While Congress was slow to act on this wide-reaching rule, GOF stepped in to defend the millions of Americans facing legal jeopardy,” Sam Paredes of the GOF wrote in a statement. “We are proud to have helped partially halt this rule, and hope it sends a message to anti-gunners hellbent on continuing the assault on the Second Amendment.”

According to a statement on the Second Amendment Foundation website, U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle granted a preliminary injunction against the rule in the Foundation’s lawsuit, SAF et al. v. ATF et al. The suit is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.

“When Joe Biden took office, he immediately began weaponizing the ATF, and this new pistol brace rule is a result of that strategy. In the process, they’re turning millions of law-abiding citizens into criminals. We can’t allow that without a fight,” Sam Gottlieb, Second Amendment Foundation executive vice president, wrote in a statement on the foundation’s website.

Brace Invented in 2012

The pistol-stabilizing brace was invented in 2012 to assist the disabled and others who may need help shooting large-format pistols built on the AR-15 and similar platforms. The stabilizing brace attaches to the rear of the pistol and the shooter’s forearm. This allows the shooter a steadier aim while holding the pistol with one hand.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/less-than-10-percent-of-pistol-braces-registered-with-atf-by-deadline_5310748.html?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=breaking-2023-06-04-2&src_cmp=breaking-2023-06-04-2&utm_medium=email&est=0xpyE%2BWN6xRVRjVy2g2Cr%2B%2BUg7uASdSdgK27nEdVfA%2FLRl1GKhsKgXFsyfPsg0fy

>>18967811

you obviously do not understand who they are for.

7 Jun, 2023 17:40

Putin labels Kakhovka dam attack ‘a barbaric act’

Speaking to his Turkish counterpart, the Russian president said that Ukraine and its backers are seeking escalation

Russian President Vladimir Putin has for the first time commented on the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Region. He accused Ukraine and its Western backers of gambling on a path of dangerous escalation.

Speaking to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone on Wednesday, the Russian head of state cited as an example the “barbaric act of destroying the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in Kherson region.”

According to Putin, this has led to a “massive ecological and humanitarian catastrophe” downstream.

The president added that Ukraine is “committing war crimes [and] is openly using terrorist methods,” including on Russian soil. All of these are being aided and abetted by Western powers, Putin noted.

On Tuesday, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, accused the “Kiev regime” of carrying out a “terrorist plot.” He added that there were indications that the act of sabotage had been planned well in advance.

According to the diplomat, Kiev took the drastic step of freeing up its forces for the counteroffensive elsewhere, as well as “taking revenge on the Crimeans for their choice in favor of Russia and leaving the population of Crimea without water.”

Nebenzia dismissed Ukraine’s version of events, according to which it was Russian forces that blew up the dam, as a “well-coordinated disinformation campaign.”

Also on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that the dam had been destroyed as a result of a “deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side.”

The official claimed that the leadership in Kiev had targeted the power plant as reprisal for what he described as botched attempts at a counteroffensive.

The Kakhovka dam was partially ruptured on Tuesday morning, causing flooding in multiple towns and villages along the Dnieper River.

https://www.rt.com/russia/577661-putin-dam-attack/

7 Jun, 2023 19:25

Russia seeks to replace ‘Nazi regime’ in Ukraine – security chief

The country must be made neutral, Nikolay Patrushev believes

There is no war between the peoples of Russia and Ukraine, claimed Russian Security Council chief Nikolay Patrushev, stating that the only “outright aggression” is coming from the US, which is using Ukraine as a tool to wage an undeclared war against Russia.

During a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Volfovich, on Wednesday, Patrushev insisted that “Kiev's Nazi regime,” which was invented by Washington and London, “must be replaced.” He also said Ukraine must be made into a neutral state, noting that the ongoing crisis in the country is not beneficial to anyone except Washington.

The security official declared that theUS had already “brought the whole of Europe to its knees,” seeking only to maximize benefits for the American economy by weakening the EU, which could have become one of the centers of a multipolar world.

He also noted that the US does not want Russia to be powerful and seeks to either dismember it or liquidate it “in order to have complete reign over the Eurasian territory and pump out resources.” To solve this problem, Patrushev stated that Washington and London have been using the capabilities of NATO and the EU, Ukrainian neo-Nazis and NGOs, and the government in Kiev, which they control.

The official added that similar plans were held by the West for Belarus, especially after they unsuccessfully tried to carry out a color revolution in the country in 2020 and failed to install their own puppet government in Minsk via a coup d’etat.

Patrushev insisted that Belarus was Russia’s closest ally and strategic partner and that it was vital for the two countries to further deepen their defense cooperation and jointly resist external sanctions and attempts to interfere in internal affairs.

Last week, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that Minsk and Moscow’s “only mistake” was failing to resolve the Ukrainian crisis much sooner. He suggested that the two countries took too long trying to find a diplomatic solution and should have acted long ago, even before the 2014 Maidan coup in Kiev, which ousted the country’s democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovich.

Lukashenko claimed that hostilities were bound to break out sooner or later and that Moscow should have launched its military operation back in 2014-2015 when Ukraine “had neither an army nor resolve.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/577653-patrushev-ukraine-neutral-state/

7 Jun, 2023 11:45 (I’m only posting this because it reminded me of Magadonia)

Emergency flight en route to Russia to replace stranded Indian airliner

A San Francisco-bound plane had made a landing inMagadanafter suffering engine problems

Air India has announced that a replacement aircraft has left Mumbai and is heading to Sokol Airport inMagadan, Russia, where 216 passengers and 16 crew have been stranded since Tuesday after their original flight developed technical problems. Flight AI-173 was bound for San Francisco from Delhi but was diverted to the remote town on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia’s Far East following an issue with one of the plane’s engines. It takes over seven and a half hours to reach Magadan from Moscow by air, while the flying time between Delhi and Magadan is a little over nine and a half hours.

“A ferry flight is scheduled to operate to GDX (Magadan) from Mumbai, India (BOM) at 13:00 hours IST on June 7, 2023, subject to necessary regulatory clearances, which would take passengers and crew of AI-173 onward to San Francisco. The ferry flight would be carrying food and other essentials for our passengers,” Air India said in a statement.

Airline officials announced that the passengers affected have been housed in makeshift accommodation with the help of local authorities. Videos that appeared on social media showed the stranded passengers, several of whom are senior citizens, staying at what appeared to be a local school.

One passenger, Gagan, told Indian broadcaster NDTV of the challenging situation because of linguistic barriers and a lack of proper facilities, including the availability of vegetarian food. However, he was quick to point out that the Russian authorities were “nice,” despite the difficulties. The airline also issued a statement about the “unusual circumstance.”

“As we do not have any Air India staff based in the remote town of Magadan or in Russia, all ground support being provided to the passengers is the best possible in this unusual circumstance through our round-the-clock liaison with the Consulate General of India in Vladivostok, Ministry of External Affairs (Government of India), local ground handlers, and the Russian authorities,” the airline said.

Indian Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is closely monitoring the situation, reports stated. The ministry is also in touch with the airline authorities about the stranded passengers and the crew’s wellbeing. The US has said it is following the situation amid strained ties with Russia over the Ukraine conflict. It was not immediately clear how many US citizens are among the stranded passengers.

“I’m not able to confirm how many US citizens were aboard the flight at this time… It was a flight that was bound for the United States. So, it is, of course, likely that there are American citizens on board” US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told journalists in Washington.

On Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson defended the airline’s use of Russian airspace, citing the key role the industry plays in connecting economies, people and cultures. “We operate according to the ambit of what is provided to us by the nation of India and not all nations agree,” Wilson said on a panel at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Russia has blocked US airlines and a number of other foreign carriers from using its airspace, in retaliation for Washington banning Russian flights over the US following the launch of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.

However, Air India and some Persian Gulf-based, Chinese and African carriers continue to fly over Russia, making travel times shorter and US rivals more uncompetitive.

https://www.rt.com/india/577625-emergency-landing-air-india-magadan/

>>18968003

The Independent is a left ring rag in UK, I don't believe a word of that about Meadows

>>18967870

He's so rote and boring.

Matt Gaetz introduces resolution to censure Jan. 6 Committee Chair Bennie Thompson

If Gaetz's resolution passes, Thompson would be removed from the House Homeland Security Committee.

Updated: June 7, 2023 - 12:58pm

Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz on Wednesday introduced a resolution to censure Missouri Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson over his work leading the Jan. 6 Committee on the U.S. Capitol riot.

The House Judiciary Committee isunable to determine which records the Jan. 6 committee "kept or destroyed before Republicans took control of the House," Gaetz said.

"Former Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, in a flagrant violation of House rules,improperly sent the records to the Biden White House and outside the rightful possession of Congress," Gaetz also said.

The most recent member of Congress to be censured was Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar after he posted a cartoon video online showing him hitting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and attacking a photo of President Joe Biden.

If Gaetz's resolution passes,Thompson also would be removed from the House Homeland Security Committee.

Gaetz is not the only Republican to criticize the Democrat's handling of materials surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Texas Republican Rep.

Troy Nehls earlier this week said the committee presented "nothing but a bunch of half-truths and lies" and he and other GOP lawmakers knew before the panel kicked off that it would "fabricate" and "hide things."

https://justthenews.com/government/congress/matt-gaetz-introduces-resolution-censure-jan-6-committee-chair-bennie-thompson