Short-Barreled Weapons No Longer on Prohibited List in Tennessee

But leaders warn that owners of SBRs and SBSs still face federal prosecution

The state of Tennessee will no longer regulate AR15-based pistols, like these. However, state officials warn that federal regulators are writing rules for these weapons. (Michael Clements/The Epoch Times)

Short-barreled rifles and shotguns (SBR, SBS) are no longer prohibited under Tennessee state law, but that doesn’t mean their owners are in the clear legally. The weapons are still banned by the federal National Firearms Act of 1934.

“All Tennessee did was say, ‘We’re not going to regulate [them] anymore,’” John Harris, a Nashville attorney and executive director of the Tennessee Firearms Association, told The Epoch Times on Dec. 19.

Last May, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a bill removing the firearms, and other items from the state’s list of prohibited weapons. This means Tennessee gun owners will no longer face state charges if they are found in possession of an SBR or SBS.

However, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is expected to issue a new rule on what constitutes an SBR. An ATF spokesman previously told The Epoch Times that once that rule has been approved, it will be enforced.

The pistol stabilizing brace was developed for people who may need help steadying their aim with larger handguns could be the factor that converts a pistol into a short-barreled rifle depending on rules being written by the ATF. (Michael Clements/The Epoch Times)

“There’s nothing I can talk about right now; it’s still in the rulemaking process,” said Erik Longnecker, deputy chief of the Public Affairs Division for the ATF.

Longnecker confirmed that the rule is expected in December 2022 but could not provide a more specific date.

Harris said the move was partly in response to recent United Supreme Court Decisions clarifying the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. In decisions such as the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller and the most recent New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen in 2022, the high court affirmed the Second Amendment established the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. In the Bruen decision, in particular, the court struck down the practice of some state or local officials to require citizens to show a specific need for carrying a weapon in public.

The court ruled that if the Constitution did not call for such restrictions, and if they had not been historically required, the government could not require them now.

‘Proper Cause’ Replaced With Stricter Rules

Some states, like New York and New Jersey, dropped what they called “proper cause” requirements from their state laws but replaced them with more restrictions on where weapons could be carried. New York also added more steps to the application process, such as a review of the applicant’s social media and increasing the number of references the applicant had to provide.

Other states, like Tennessee, decided to pull out of the debate and let the federal government handle it. Harris said that in the end, the Tennessee law mimicked the federal statute in regulating a firearm that did nothing more than any other guns did.

“I think it was more form over function,” Harris said.

Under current federal law, a firearm is considered short-barreled if it has “a rifled barrel under 16 inches in length or [is] a smooth-bore firearm with a barrel under 18 inches in length.” Gun manufacturers have been offering large pistols built on the AR15 platform. In 2012 companies began selling pistol braces. These devices are designed to stabilize the larger pistols for a steadier aim.

At first, approving the devices, the ATF reversed itself based on the premise that the braces could be used to shoulder the pistols like a rifle. According to the ATF’s new interpretation, such a brace would convert the gun into an illegal SBR. As such, anyone owning such a weapon must pay a $200 tax and register the weapon with the ATF.

One Difference Between the Guns

Tennessee State Rep. Rusty Grills (R-Newbern) said he wrote the bill to change state law to provide consistency for citizens. He pointed out that pistols and rifles perform the same primary function, making one no more deadly than the other.

“The only difference is the way [the firearm] is held against the body,” Grills said.

Grills made his remarks during a hearing before the Tennessee Senate’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee last March. At that hearing, a Murfreesboro businessman also spoke in support of the change to the law. Aqil Qadir told the committee he retired from the Buffalo, New York Police Department and moved to Murfreesboro 15 years ago because “I like the freedoms you all have down here.”

Qadir said he is a firearms instructor for various law enforcement agencies and owner-operator of the Citizens Safety Academy. He said his academy is designed to introduce people to firearms and their proper use. According to Qadir, the larger pistols with stabilizers are ideal for people with disabilities or needing extra help handling a firearm.

However, he told the committee the constant changes in ATF rules had left him perplexed at times about what is and what is not allowed.

“The laws can be tough to understand, confusing,” Qadir said.

Patrick Powell, an agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and others in law enforcement disagreed. Powell said the main confusion would come when local law enforcement finds weapons they know are illegal under federal law but have no way to deal with them.

“You’re going to create a situation where officers would be able to see a weapon they know is illegal under the federal law and you would prevent them from being able to act without contacting the feds and hopefully having an ATF agency nearby,” Powell said at the hearing.

He also took issue with the idea that the weapons would be automatically illegal.

“Anyone who goes through the legal [registration] process is fine to own these weapons,” Powell said. “This would put us out of sync with the feds.”

Second Amendment End Around

Tennessee State Rep. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station) told the committee the ATF is simply trying to get around the Second Amendment by labeling some weapons as more dangerous than others.

“Every firearm that I know of is a dangerous weapon. You think it’s OK for the government to have this weapon, but law-abiding citizens under the Constitution of the United States and the Second Amendment cannot have this weapon,” Sexton said.

Powell responded that only people who did not pay the tax or register their firearm as required by the NFA would be prosecuted.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law on May 11, 2022, and it took effect the following July 1. Harris said any reports that SBRs or SBSs are legal in Tennessee are premature. Indeed, the state isn’t regulating these specific firearms, but federal officials are. Though the federal law may not be clear, one thing is sure: “It’s illegal to have it or make it until you have the stamp and have paid the tax.”