Barrasso, Lummis Defend Second Amendment Rights of Wyoming Citizens

U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis (both R-WYO) recently joined their Republican colleagues in voting for a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act of the Biden Administration’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pistol brace rule. The ATF rule reclassifies pistols as short-barreled rifles if they have a stabilizing brace attachment. Many disabled veterans and other Americans rely on these braces to use their firearms. This rule would result in otherwise lawful gun owners facing up to 10 years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines if they fail to register pistols with stabilizing braces with the ATF. If they do not register their firearms, they would have to destroy it, surrender it to the ATF, or remove the brace in a way that it cannot be reattached. Earlier this year, Senators Barrasso and Lummis joined their Republican colleagues in introducing the SHORT Act and the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, a set of bills intended to safeguard Second Amendment rights.

The Congressional Review Act can be used by Congress to overturn certain federal agency regulations and actions through a joint resolution of disapproval. If a CRA joint resolution of disapproval is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the President, or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto, the rule at issue is invalidated.