Pa. U.S. Rep. Summer Lee hits GOP over vote to repeal stabilizing braces for pistols

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-12th District, criticized House Republicans during debate over a resolution to repeal a restriction on pistols that makes them easier to shoot.

“Republicans chose to mark up this bill on the 7-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting,” Lee said on the House floor. “All the while, in my district, Tree of Life families are fighting for justice, facing the gunman who killed their loved ones in court.”

The trial for a man who allegedly killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 is underway, with federal prosecutors seeking the death penalty if he is convicted.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued a final rule in January that would put pistols with stabilizing braces into the same category as short-barreled rifles, which are more heavily regulated.

Stabilizing braces make it easier to fire a pistol with one hand, and authorities say one was used by a man who allegedly killed 10 people at a Boulder grocery store in 2021.

The regulation took effect June 1. But on Tuesday, the House voted mostly along party lines to repeal it, by a vote of 219- 210. President Joe Biden has said he will veto the bill if it passes the Senate.

“This bill is a slap in the face to the victims of mass shootings,” Lee said. “It ignores the realities of gun violence in our country, and it demonstrates how Republicans choose the gun lobby over children and families over and over again.”