The Supreme Court overturned the government’s ban on bump stocks, 6-3.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
The bump stock ban began under the Trump administration after the 2017 Las Vegas massacre. Biden’s DOJ defended the ban.
Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works and Army veteran, sued the government when the ATF forced him to hand over several bump stocks.
The administration classified bump stocks as “machineguns.”
SCOTUS ruled that the ATF overstepped its statutory authority by issuing the rule.
The bump stock does nothing of that sort. It makes it easier to pull the trigger, but you still have to pull the trigger for every round fired.
Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged the truth in the majority opinion:
(a) A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a “machinegun” as defined by §5845(b) because: (1) it cannot fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger” and (2) even if it could, it would not do so “automatically.” ATF therefore exceeded its statutory authority by issuing a Rule that classifies bump stocks as machineguns. P. 6.(b) A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger.” The phrase “function of the trigger” refers to the mode of action by which the trigger activates the firing mechanism. No one disputes that a semiautomatic rifle without a bump stock is not a machinegun because a shooter must release and reset the trigger between every shot. And, any subsequent shot fired after the trigger has been released and reset is the result of a separate and distinct “function of the trigger.” Nothing changes when a semiautomatic rifle is equipped with a bump stock. Between every shot, the shooter must release pressure from the trigger and allow it to reset before reengaging the trigger for another shot. A bump stock merely reduces the amount of time that elapses between separate “functions” of the trigger.
Public pressure led Congress to start writing legislation to ban bump stocks.
However, at the same time, the ATF decided to reinterpret the definition of bump stocks.
Late Sen. Dianne Feinstein warned the ATF that legislation is the only way to ban bump stocks. She knew people would “have a field day” with the ATF.
Cargill posted a video on Twitter. Good for him. Thank you, sir, for defending our rights.
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