The pistol brace rule instituted by the ATF was vacated on July 17, 2025, after President Trump’s DOJ agreed to dismiss the lawsuit launched under the Biden administration.
The Firearms Policy Coalition celebrated the victory on the day the dismissal was announced: “This afternoon, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and the federal government agreed to a joint dismissal of the government’s appeal in our Mock v. Bondi lawsuit, a case that successfully challenged the Biden ATF’s “pistol brace” ban and secured injunctive relief for gun owners while the case was being litigated to final judgment, which completely vacated the rule.”
Renowned AR-15 maker Daniel Defense lauded the dismissal too:
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Breitbart News noted that the pistol brace rule was published in the federal registry January 31, 2023, and lawsuits against it immediately began to be filed.
Via the rule, the ATF categorized AR-pistols with braces as short-barrel rifles under the National Firearms Act (NFA), thereby requiring registration of the firearms and a cumbersome purchase process akin to that for machine guns.
Firearms Policy Coalition president Brandon Combs commented on the dismissal of the rule: “…As we explained in the case filings, braced pistols are not ‘short-barreled rifles.’ But either way, they are unquestionably arms protected under the Second Amendment,” he wrote. “We are thrilled to have secured this important win for liberty and excited to take on even more unconstitutional laws so you can exercise your rights when, where, and how you choose.”
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected]..
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