WATCH: Gun Control Witness Admits Communicating with ATF Director Before Pistol Brace Rule

On Thursday, an official from the gun-control organization Everytown for Gun Safety testified that he had a conversation with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Director Steven Dettelbach prior to the agency’s implementation of a regulation that tightened restrictions on pistol braces.

In case you missed it, the ATF issued their final rule to reclassify millions of commonly-owned pistol-braced firearms as short-barreled rifles and shotguns under the NFA. The final ruling came in January 2023, seven months after the Senate confirmed Dettelbach to lead the bureau.

In 2012, the ATF granted initial approval for the pistol stabilizing brace attachment. In a letter addressed to the device’s creator, Alex Bosco, the agency stated that it “would not alter the classification of a pistol or other firearm.”

Everytown’s senior director of policy, Rob Wilcox, repeatedly dodged questioning from House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) before admitting to the conversations. Dodging questions—he sounds less than credible.

SEE ALSO: ATF Warns Gun Dealers About Selling Unserialized Frames, Receivers w/o Background Checks

The video of the exchange is embedded above. Trust me, you’ll want to watch it.

If you prefer reading, here’s how the conversation played out.

“Did you or anyone in your organization communicate with the ATF or the Biden administration, about these issues we’re discussing today prior to the notice of proposed rule-making?” Jordan asked.

“We submitted formal petitions for rule-making through the appropriate channels,” Wilcox replied.

“Before the notice of proposed rule-making?” Jordan asked.

“That’s correct,” Wilcox answered.

“Did anyone [with Everytown] ever talk to Mr. Dettelbach about this personally?” Jordan said.

Looking a little uneasy and stammering through his reply, Wilcox said, “Of course, we’ve been in communication with the ATF in this administration and in prior administrations.” 

Nice dodge, Wilcox.

“Talking to the director? You’ve talked to the director?” Jordan replied.

“We work with ATF across administrations,” Wilcox said again.

“Have you talked to the director? It’s a simple question,” Jordan asked again.

“Yeah, I’ve communicated with the director,” Wilcox admitted.

Jordan cited the comparable interactions between National School Boards Association (NSBA) officials and White House personnel, which occurred before the organization submitted a letter urging the Biden administration to employ domestic terrorism laws to address the menace of violent attacks directed at government officials.

“It looks to me like we have a similar operation going on here, where you guys worked with the ATF to change something that had been the law for 10 years to go after law-abiding Second Amendment-supporting Americans,” Jordan said.

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