ATF Issues Cease And Desist For Honey Badger Pistol

The Firearm Blog – by Luke C.

Firearms Manufacturer Q LLC announced today that it was issued a Cease and Desist by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. The ATF’s letter notified Q that the Honey Badger pistol is now considered a Short barreled rifle (SBR) and ordered them to immediately cease production of the firearm unless it is registered on an ATF Form 2, declaring that they are manufacturing an NFA weapon.

Q released a statement today in which they included their full response to the ATF and provided some guidance for those who may own Q Honey Badger pistols. The Email containing both letters is quoted below.

Dear Customer:

On August 3^rd, 2020, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) issued Q® a formal Cease & Desist letter, notifying us that ATF has taken the position that the Q Honey Badger Pistol is a short-barreled rifle (“SBR”) regulated under the National Firearms Act (“NFA”).  In response, Q has ceased all production of the Honey Badger Pistol, and submitted a comprehensive letter to ATF and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) stating why we disagree with this classification[1]. Additionally, we have provided recommendations on how to address the firearms already in circulation. Q is seeking solutions that best protect you, the individual, and Q’s distribution network from falling out of compliance with ATF regulations, and federal law.  At this time, Q has not received any definitive guidance from the ATF.

In the meantime, Q encourages possessors of the Honey Badger Pistol to take these proactive measures until a resolution is reached between Q and ATF.

1. Complete one of the following:
   1. Remove the barreled upper receiver from the lower receiver and dedicate it as a replacement
      for another AR-style pistol or registered short-barreled rifle; or
   2. If you do not possess another AR-style pistol or registered short-barreled rifle, remove the barreled upper receiver from the lower receiver and temporarily transfer it out of your possession by, for example, transferring it to the dominion and control of another individual; and
2. Once the previous step is completed, you may file an ATF Form 1 to register the lower receiver as a short-barreled rifle.  Upon Form 1 approval, the firearm may be reassembled.

Failure to complete option a or option b could result in prosecution and is subject to a $10,000.00 fine and up to 10 years imprisonment.

If you are concerned with this situation – as Q is – we urge you to contact the Department of Justice (ATF’s parent agency) by using the below OneClickPolitics link.

ONECLICK LINK

Additionally, we encourage you to reach out to the White House and ask President Trump to halt and rollback ATF’s efforts to issue arbitrary and capricious decisions affecting millions of legal gun owners.

However, once again, the ATF is using some unclear reasoning to justify their cease and desist letter. Previously they have swayed on both the legality and application in which pistol braces were used and it seems they are once again confusing the industry and consumers by making the claim that “these firearms are designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder and may be classified as a short-barreled rifle under the GCA and NFA.”

Dark Times Ahead?

This letter could mean complicated times for tens of thousands of firearms owners who are already having to keep up with numerous ATF letters and opinions surrounding pistol braces and their use.

What makes this situation worse for everyone involved is that the ATF continues to refuse to set down a clear and concise definition for what they officially believe to be or not be a pistol stabilizing brace. Instead, the ATF insists on having manufactures submit sample firearms so that they can be examined to see ugly arbitrarily determine whether or not they find them to be within what they considered to be a pistol brace.

We will continue to monitor this developing situation and bring you updates as they occur.

The Firearm Blog