The Stop Harassing Owners of Rifles Today (SHORT) Act will remove the unconstitutional taxation, registration, and regulation in the draconian National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) of firearms such as Short Barreled Rifles (SBR), Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS), and Any Other Weapons (AOW).
The SHORT Act is needed to push back against the Biden Administration’s attacks on millions of gun owners with his attempted ban[i] on certain pistols through an ATF rule change.[ii] Using the NFA,[iii] the Biden Administration is pretending[iv] people who own pistols with stabilizing braces possess illegal short-barreled rifles. ATF is using this excuse to facilitate a ban and forcing gun owners to violate their rule or participate in an unconstitutional “Amnesty Registration of Pistol Brace weapons,” in order to keep their own lawfully purchased firearms.[v]
The only way to protect gun owners from the Biden Administration and ensure the ATF does not enact this rule (or any future version of it) is by deregulating NFA firearms through the elimination of unconstitutional and unnecessary restrictions, taxation, and registration placed on NFA firearms in 1934.
Short-Barreled Rifle Deregulation
- An SBR is a rifle with a barrel length less than 16 inches or an overall length less than 26 inches.[vi]
- SBRs, along with SBSs and AOWs, are not more dangerous than any other firearm.
- The ATF reports there are over 532,000 registered SBRs as of May 2021.[vii]
- SBRs include many rifles but the most popular SBRs are variants of the AR-15.
- Under ATF Proposed Rule 2021R-08, any rifle with a stabilizing brace would de facto[viii] be designated an SBR and thus be subject to all NFA Regulations. This means the Biden Administration may be registering, taxing, and regulating as many as 40 million[ix] lawfully purchased pistols without the passage of a new law.
Short-Barreled Shotgun Deregulation
- An SBS is a shotgun that has a barrel length less than 18 inches or an overall length less than 26 inches.[x]
- The ATF reports that there are over 162,000 registered SBSs as of May 2021.[xi]
- Additionally, Sen. Marshall’s legislation would remove the unconstitutional “sporting use” requirement for shotguns, which allows ATF bureaucrats to arbitrarily regulate certain shotguns as if they were explosives.[xii]
Any Other Weapon Deregulation
- An AOW is an ambiguous catch-all term for firearms that do not fit neatly into the provided definitions.[xiii] Without removing this definition, the ATF could abuse this statue to justify another ban on pistols. This is a crucial provision to end the attack on American’s Second Amendment rights.
- The ATF reports that there are over 67,000 registered AOWs as of May 2021.[xiv]
Record Destruction
- Additionally, the legislation would require the ATF destroy all records relating to the registration, transfer, or manufacture of these NFA firearms, preventing the ATF from further harassing owners or confiscating these firearms. Gun registration always leads to gun confiscation.[xv]
[i] Gun Owners of America. Docket No. ATF 2021R-08 “Factoring Criteria For Firearms With Attached Stabilizing Braces” Comments of Gun Owners of America Inc. and Gun Owners Foundation. 9.
[ii] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. “Factoring Criteria For Firearms With Attached Stabilizing Braces”.
[iii] Public Law 73-474.
[iv] “Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gun Crime and Ensure Public Safety”. White House. June 23rd, 2021.
[v] Johnston. “Biden’s Pistol Ban and Complimentary ‘Amnesty Registration’”. Gun Owners of America. 2022.
[vi] 18 U.S.C. 5845(a)
[vii] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 2021 Firearms Commerce Report. 17.
[viii] Sanderson. “Biden Administration Pistol Point Calculator”. Gun Owners of America. 2021.
[ix] Congressional Research Service. Handguns, Stabilizing Braces, and Related Components. April 2021.
[x] 18 U.S.C. 5845(a)
[xi] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 2021 Firearms Commerce Report. 17.
[xii] 18 U.S.C. 5845(f).
[xiii] Ibid. (e).
[xiv] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 2021 Firearms Commerce Report. 17.
[xv] Gun Owners of America. “How Gun Control is Responsible for Genocide”. YouTube. April 26th, 2022.
