June 14, 2023
Dear Members of the United States Senate,
We write to you as members of and leaders in our nation’s wide and varied faith communities. We see firsthand the effects of gun violence in our cities and towns, and we know that we have all been affected in some way by this scourge.
We are writing today to express our concern about S.J. Res. 20, a resolution to undo a rule enacted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). This rule closes a loophole related to arm braces, a relatively recent invention that has been exploited to evade long-standing regulations on short-barrelled rifles.
Arm braces make assault weapons more deadly, and have been used in mass murders in Boulder, Colorado Springs, Dayton, and less than three months ago in a church-affiliated school in Nashville, Tennessee. ATF’s rule is a commonsense measure to close a gap in our nation’s gun laws by treating weapons with arm braces with the same scrutiny as short-barrelled rifles.
We urge you to vote against S.J. Res. 20, and instead to enact other measures that would reduce the threat of gun violence in our communities.
Sincerely,