Justice Department proposes policies to address mass shootings

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Administration focuses on stabilizing braces and red flag laws

The Justice Department proposed a new rule Monday to more closely regulate pistols that have “stabilizing braces” to allow them to be fired from the shoulder, which it said has been used in at least two mass shootings in the past three years.

Companies now sell accessories that make it easy for people to convert pistols into more dangerous weapons known as short-barreled rifles, which have heightened regulations because they are easy to conceal, can cause great damage and are more likely to be used to commit crimes, the DOJ said. 

Those accessories mean the owners can get a short-barreled rifle without going through the National Firearms Act’s background check and registration requirements, the proposed rule states. Congress passed the law in 1934 to regulate certain “gangster” type weapons by taxing them, the DOJ said. Continue reading.