Attorneys General Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Morrisey, Other State AGs Set To File Lawsuit Relating To Pistol Brace Regulation

Patrick Morrisey is one of more than 20 attorneys general set to file a lawsuit against the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). They look to overturn a January rule regulating stabilizing braces and similar accessories for pistols.

Stabilizing braces attach to ends of pistols, using velcro to attach around the forearm.

The ATF argues these accessories would effectively transform pistols into short-barreled rifles, which are regulated more strictly than handguns through extra taxation, registration and background checks.

The agency said pistols modified with braces should be treated the same way, saying short-barreled rifles have the power of longer guns but are easier to conceal.

“This rule enhances public safety and prevents people from circumventing the laws Congress passed almost a century ago,” ATF Director Steven Dettelbach said in a Jan. 13 statement announcing the rule, called Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces. “In the days of Al Capone, Congress said back then that short-barreled rifles and sawed-off shotguns should be subjected to greater legal requirements than most other guns.”

Morrisey decried the rule as federal overreach during a live streamed conference Thursday afternoon, calling it a “completely nonsensical regulation.” He also argued these braces are meant to increase accuracy and prevent recoil, touting those who would otherwise have more trouble carrying firearms as examples.

“We should not be making it harder for senior citizens and people with disabilities — and many disabled veterans — to defend themselves,” Morrisey said.

The rule went into effect Jan. 31 when it was published in the Federal Register. The lawsuit challenging it is set to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota Western Division.

Can EPA Still Cap CO2 Emissions After Ruling? AGs Split On Issue

The U.S. Supreme Court limited the agency's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. However, the legal battle may not be over.

The U.S. Supreme Court limited the federal government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. However, the legal battle may not be over.

Eight state attorneys general, all Democrats, wrote Michael Regan, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency late last month.

They urged him to issue limits for greenhouse gasses under another section of the Clean Air Act that allows the establishment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

They say that falls under the EPA’s authority and would not run afoul of the Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia v EPA. The justices ruled in June that the EPA may not regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and his Kentucky counterpart, Daniel Cameron, wrote to the EPA on Tuesday. They urged the agency to reject that approach.

Morrisey and Cameron were joined by 18 other Republican attorneys general.

Attorneys General Urge Health Care Companies to Update Prescribing Practices

A bipartisan group of state attorneys general, including West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey, are urging health care companies to develop programs that might…

A bipartisan group of state attorneys general, including West Virginia’s Patrick Morrisey, are urging health care companies to develop programs that might mitigate opioid abuse.

The letters urge the companies to adopt programs that promote better prescribing practices, such as limiting prescriptions of opioids to seven days for new patients, limiting the daily dose of opioids based on strength and requiring the initial use of immediate-release formulas.

The letters point to a similar program implemented by CVS Health Corporation as an example of work well done.

The letters call the opioid crisis “the most pressing public health crisis our country faces.” The attorneys general say their hope is to promote practices that curtail the type of over-prescribing that often leads to addiction.

15 attorneys general from across the country signed the letters.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

AGs want Health Insurers to Review Policies in Opioid Fight

Attorneys general from 35 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia are urging health insurers to review their policies for pain management…

Attorneys general from 35 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia are urging health insurers to review their policies for pain management treatment to spark higher use of alternatives to opioid prescriptions.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Monday announced the bipartisan coalition’s efforts in the ongoing fight to end opioid addiction.

Morrisey says in a news release that the coalition wants health insurers to avoid contributing unintentionally to the deadly problem.

Other co-sponsors of the effort are attorneys general from Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, Utah and Virginia.

West Virginia has the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the United States at 41.5 per 100,000 residents — more than twice the national average.