Supreme Court strikes down federal ban on bump stocks

WASHINGTON — In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks on Friday.

These gun accessories enable semi-automatic rifles to shoot bullets at rapid speed. Bump stocks were used in the 2017 shooting at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, the deadliest shooting in modern history.

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“We knew that there was an active shooter, we just didn’t know where,” said Kari Kuefler, a survivor of the Las Vegas shooting.

During the shooting, the gunman used bump stocks to fire more than a thousand rounds into the crowd in minutes.

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“To me, a bump stock is not responsible gun ownership. I don’t feel that there is a need for it,” Kuefler said.

Under former President Donald Trump, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made bump stocks illegal in response to the 2017 mass shooting.

With this Supreme Court ruling, it reserved that ban, and now gun owners and shops will be able to buy, sell, and use bump stocks again. Kuefler believes this decision disregards all the lives lost during the Las Vegas mass shooting.

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“I understand and respect the Second Amendment, but I don’t understand something like that being in the marketplace to take so many lives so quickly,” Kuefler said.

In the majority opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a bump stock doesn’t convert a semiautomatic rifle into an illegal machine gun.

“A bump stock does not alter the basic mechanics of bump firing. As with any semiautomatic firearm, the trigger still must be released and re-engaged to fire each additional shot,” Thomas wrote in the opinion.

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Thomas added that the ATF exceeded its authority when it classified bump stocks as machine guns.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) believes that is the biggest takeaway from the ruling.

“It sends a message not just to ATF, but to every single federal agency, that you cannot go rummage around through old statutes and change the meaning of the law,” said Mark Chenoweth, President of the New Civil Liberties Alliance.

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NCLA represented Texas gun owner, Michael Cargill who sued the ATF over the ban.

“Over five years ago I swore I would defend the Constitution of the United States, even if I was the only plaintiff in the case. I did just that,” Michael Cargill said in a written statement.

NCLA leaders said this ruling is a victory in response to an unlawful federal rule.

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“If you want to change the law, you have to go to Congress and get Congress to amend the law. That’s not the job of the executive branch. It’s the job of the legislative branch,” Chenoweth said.

In response to this ruling, President Joe Biden urged Congress to take action. “I call on Congress to ban bump stocks, pass an assault weapon ban, and take additional action to save lives – send me a bill and I will sign it immediately,” President Biden said in a written statement.

Currently, 15 states and Washington, DC have local bans on bump stocks.

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