74 House Reps. to Speaker Johnson: Reject Reauthorization of Undetectable Firearms Act

Seventy-four members of the House of Representatives sent Speaker Mike Johnson (R) a letter Wednesday urging him to reject the reauthorization of the Undetectable Firearms Act (1988).

The letter, backed by Gun Owners of America, opened by saying:

As we head into the 2024 election year, the Republican conference will have numerous opportunities to prove to the American people why our party should be entrusted with continued control of the House of Representatives. One of our first opportunities to demonstrate a Republican Commitment to America will be to emphatically reject any permanent reauthorization or expansion of the Undetectable Firearms Act.

The missive goes on to point out the continued existence of the Undetectable Firearms Act opens the door for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to redefine words and phrases, thereby expanding the number of guns regulated under the Act.

The 74 Reps. specifically pointed to the manner in which the ATF redefined incomplete pistol frames as firearms. On December 27, 2022, the ATF issued a letter in which the agency reiterated that “partially complete pistol frames” are “firearms.”

The ATF’s redefinition of gun parts was an outgrowth of Biden’s call for action against firearms that Democrats’ categorize as “ghost guns.” The new definition was part of ATF Final Rule 2021-05F.

The 74 Reps. added, “The Biden administration has already demonstrated its ability to weaponize the Undetectable Firearms Act into a widespread plastic gun ban. Congress must not permanently reauthorize this law, especially while ATF’s final definition of a ‘frame or receiver’ is still being considered in the courts.”

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 Turning Point USA Ambassador, and a pro-staffer for Pulsar Night Vision. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.