31 Mar In-the-News Update [Issue: 2nd Amendment]
Following the recent Congressional hearings in the House Judiciary committee, on March 23rd, in which the committee sought to examine policy overreaches by the ATF, the committee has subsequently requested testimony by the head of the ATF himself, Director Steve Dettlebach. The March 23rd hearing saw heated questioning of four witnesses regarding the ATF’s new rule on stabilizing braces and SBRs: Second Amendment attorney Matt LaRosiere; Alex Bosco, founder of SB Tactical and inventor of the stabilizing pistol brace; Amy Swearer, a Heritage Foundation Constitutional and Second Amendment expert; and Everytown for Gun Safety Federal Legal Director Rob Wilcox. As a result, Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) submitted their request via letter, in which they accused the ATF of a lack of transparency and attempting to circumvent congressional legislation through the ATF’s rulemaking process. The committee is seeking documentation on the ATF’s rule making process and also wants to question Dettlebach on the ATF’s recent implementation of a “zero tolerance” policy that has seen an increase of FFL revocations by 500%, many of which were due to simple clerical errors.