A political firestorm is erupting in Washington after a stunning court filing revealed that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives may have continued enforcing a controversial firearm policy long after it was struck down in court.
At the center of the controversy is the Biden-era pistol brace rule, a sweeping regulation that reclassified millions of legally owned firearms as short-barreled rifles under federal law. The rule had already been dealt fatal blows in multiple federal courts, with judges ruling it violated the Administrative Procedure Act and labeling the agency’s actions as arbitrary and capricious.
By mid-2025, the legal battle appeared finished. The Department of Justice under President Donald Trump dropped its appeal, effectively ending the government’s effort to revive the rule. Gun owners across the country believed the fight was over.
But a March 16, 2026 court filing changed everything.
In documents submitted in federal court in Texas, the ATF acknowledged it “continue[s] to enforce the NFA’s and the GCA’s regulation of short-barreled rifles against some brace-equipped pistols, even though the Rule has been universally vacated.”
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