ARTICLE · 22 MARCH 2022

ATF Regulations Coming: (re)Defining A "Firearm," Stabilizing Braces And Solvent Traps

Williams Mullen

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The ATF has been and will be busy in the coming weeks and could issue new regulations before the 2022 Firearms Industry Conference (FIC), April 26 – 27 in Atlanta, Georgia.

United StatesConsumer Protection

Charles E. James, Jr.

The ATF has been and will be busy in the coming weeks and could issue new regulations before the 2022 Firearms Industry Conference (FIC), April 26 – 27 in Atlanta, Georgia.

(re)Defining a "Firearm"

In May 2021, shortly before last year's FIC, the ATF announced a proposed rule change. The rule, ATF 2021R-05, "Definition of Frame or Receiver and Identification of Firearms," was introduced and signed by the Attorney General, consistent with the administrative process. In the following days and weeks, industry participants and many elected officials concluded the proposed rule would expand or redefine "firearm frame or receiver" and "frame or receiver," amend the definitions of "firearm" and "gunsmith" and memorialize new definitions of "firearm" and "gunsmith." These changes, if instituted, increase the ATF's regulatory authority over an array of items, services and commerce, including manufacturers of firearms, suppressors, kits and privately made firearms.

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