In a surprise move, the ATF rescinded its Notice of “Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with Stabilizing Braces” Wednesday. The notice published initially last week.

ATF Rescinds PSB Notice

The ATF gave no indication why it rescinded the notice. The withdraw came merely hours after Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and 89 other Congressional representatives sent a letter to ATF. The representatives asked the agency “immediately take action to correct this injustice.”

“We would like to thank the NRA members, gun owners, and members of Congress who stood up for the Second Amendment rights of all Americans,” said an NRA release. “And, special thanks to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  and Congressman Hudson for taking the lead in pushing ATF to rethink its arbitrary and unhelpful ‘guidance.’” 

The firearm industry continues to push back against PSB re-classification. In fact, many gun companies and brace makers have asked for better ATF guidance on PSBs for years. Instead, the ATF criteria remains subjective. It uses weak language, open to interpretation on a case-by-case basis.

“The guidance proposed by the ATF last week did little, unfortunately, to clear the ambiguity that exists with subjective criteria,” said an NSSF statement.

“NSSF had been engaging with manufacturers, distributors, retailers, as well as policymakers to highlight concerns surrounding the proposed guidance,” NSSF continued. “NSSF was working to illustrate the potential impact this guidance would have had on the firearm industry.”

It remains difficult to know if this stands as a true victory for gun owners. Or did the ATF just re-group to merely come back at this again. We can’t know for sure, and the ATF said very little. But with a Biden-Harris White House set to take power, we know what lies on the horizon.