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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The federal government has a new rule to address stabilizing braces that may be used to convert some pistols into short barreled rifles.
“Short-barreled rifles are particularly dangerous because they have all of the concealability and maneuverability of a pistol, but the firepower, accuracy and lethality of a rifle,” said Mark Collins, the director of federal policy with Brady United, a group that advocates for gun safety.
Collins says these kind of weapons are more dangerous.
“If you ask any firearms expert whether or not a pistol or a rifle is deadlier, 100 percent will say a rifle is deadlier and that’s because rifle’s are much more accurate,” said Collins.
“This rule enhances public safety and prevents people from circumventing the laws Congress passed almost a century ago. In the days of Al Capone, Congress said back then that short-barreled rifles and sawed-off shotguns should be subjected to greater legal requirements than most other guns. The reason for that is that short-barreled rifles have the greater capability of long guns, yet are easier to conceal, like a pistol,” ATF Director Steven Dettelbach explained.
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Al Delatorre with Guns Galore in Lakeland says the new rule will not make the public any safer. He says the only difference is the cost of obtaining a permit.
“If you bought this gun from me today and wanted to convert it, today it would cost you $200 to convert it to Class 3, and you would also have to pay $200 to pick it up,” said Delatorre.
He says no firearm is dangerous by itself.
“The only person that makes this dangerous is the person behind it,” said Delatorre.
The new federal rule already has challenges and pending court cases to stop it’s enforcement.
