BREAKING: Supreme Court Strikes Down Bump Stock Ban

The Supreme Court has just struck down a ban on bump stocks.

In Garland v. Cargill, the Supreme Court ruled that a bump stock does not convert a rifle into a machine gun. Therefore, it can’t be restricted as such.

🚨🇺🇸BREAKING: SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN FEDERAL GUN BUMP STOCK BAN

In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court has declared the federal ban on bump stocks, devices that increase the firing rate of semi-automatic rifles, unlawful.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority, stating… pic.twitter.com/P9wEpZteUP

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 14, 2024

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion, noting “A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not fire more than one shot ‘by a single function of the trigger. With or without a bump stock, a shooter must release and reset the trigger between every shot.”

Here’s the full opinion:

LEGAL ALERT: The Supreme Court has struck down former President Trump's bump stock ban, ruling 6-3 that the ATF exceeded its authority when it issued the rule. The opinion was written by Justice Thomas: https://t.co/canMOuyFLv pic.twitter.com/C8SgYkESXW

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) June 14, 2024

The ban was originally imposed in 2017 after the Las Vegas mass shooting.

Texas gun store owner Michael Cargill challenged the ban in a lawsuit which reached the Supreme Court, and just won.

Here’s his reaction:

I WON 6-3 Garland vs Cargill@centexguns @ComeAndTalkIt @NCLAlegal #bumpstock #CargillVGarland pic.twitter.com/g3K7FcGU6g

— Michael Cargill (@michaeldcargill) June 14, 2024

As you probably guessed, the Supreme Court’s decision is highly controversial, and Dems are in a frenzy.

AP reported:

The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, the rapid-fire gun accessories used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, in a ruling that threw firearms back into the nation’s political spotlight.

The high court’s conservative majority found that the Trump administration overstepped when it changed course from predecessors and banned bump stocks, which allow a rate of fire comparable to machine guns. The decision came after a gunman in Las Vegas attacked a country music festival with assault rifles equipped with the accessories.

The gunman fired more than 1,000 rounds into the crowd in 11 minutes, sending thousands of people fleeing in terror as hundreds were wounded and dozens were killed in 2017.

The 6-3 majority opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas found the Justice Department was wrong to declare that bump stocks transformed semiautomatic rifles into illegal machine guns because, he said, they don’t “alter the basic mechanics of firing.”

Justice Samuel Alito agreed but wrote a short separate opinion to stress that Congress can change the law. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a dissent joined by the court’s liberals and read out loud in the courtroom that she hoped Congress would act.

Biden and his administration certainly isn’t too happy with the Supreme Court’s ruling…

Simon Ateba noted:

BREAKING: Biden's campaign ERUPTS, attacks Trump, condemns Supreme Court's decision declaring bump stock ban unconstitutional, says, "Weapons of war have no place on the streets of America. But Trump's justices have decided the gun lobby is more important than the safety of our… pic.twitter.com/8aR6Sgl40R

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) June 14, 2024

The Washington Examiner has more on Biden’s reaction:

President Joe Biden slammed the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a ban on bump stocks Friday, saying the ruling will put lives in danger.

“Americans should not have to live in fear of this mass devastation,” Biden said in a statement.

The 6-3 decision, which fell along ideological lines, found that the government overstepped its authority in banning bump stocks, a gun accessory that transforms a semiautomatic rifle into one that functions similarly to a machine gun.

The high court ruled in favor of Michael Cargill, a gun store owner who challenged the ban. In response, Biden, who has called for greater gun control throughout his time in the White House, said the decision “strikes down an important gun safety regulation.”

Biden mentioned the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, saying the shooter used a weapon modified with a bump stock to fire more than 1,000 bullets in 10 minutes, killing 60 people and wounding hundreds more.

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“While extreme Congressional Republicans want to defund the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, I have used every tool in my administration to stamp out gun violence,” the president said.