The United States Supreme Court THURSDAY ruled that a bump stock does not convert a firearm into an automatic weapon, overturning a federal rule that banned bump stocks.
In a 6-3 decision, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote: “Congress has long restricted access to ‘machine guns,'” a category of firearms defined by the ability to “automatically fire multiple shots.” . . by a single trigger function.”
“Semi-automatic firearms, which require shooters to re-engage the trigger with each shot, are not machine guns. This case asks whether a striker stock, an accessory for a semi-automatic rifle that allows the shooter to quickly reengage the trigger (and therefore achieve high range). rate of fire) – converts the rifle into a “machine gun”. We believe this is not the case,” he wrote.
In the case of Garland v. Cargill, the court was asked whether a “bump” device was a “machine gun” like defined by federal law because it is designed and intended to be used to convert a rifle into a weapon that fires “automatically more than one shot…by a single trigger function.”
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A bump stock is on display March 15, 2019 in Harrisonburg, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, file)
The majority of the High Court held that the legal definition of a “machine gun” is any weapon capable of firing “automatically more than one shot…by a single trigger function.”
“We believe that a semi-automatic rifle equipped with a humped stock is not a “machine gun” because it cannot fire more than one shot “by a single trigger function.” And even if it does was possible, it would not do it ‘automatically’,” Thomas wrote.
“The ATF therefore overstepped its statutory authority by issuing a rule that classifies bump stocks as machine guns,” he said.
A protester holds a sign reading “Bump Fists Not Stocks” before marching from the White House to the U.S. Capitol. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
After a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 that left 60 people dead and 500 others injured, the Bureau of Alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives (ATF) issued an interpretive rule concluding that “backup stocks” are machine guns.
“This tragedy created enormous political pressure to ban bump stocks nationwide. Within days, members of Congress proposed bills to ban bump stocks and other devices ‘designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semi-automatic rifle,’” Thomas wrote in Thursday’s notice.
The Trump administration launched a ban on these devices — rolling back previous regulations — and President Biden’s Justice Department defended it in court.
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Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, disagreed with the majority, saying, “the Court is putting relief stockpiles back into civilian hands.” To do this, she rejects Congress’s definition of “machine gun” and seizes it. inconsistent with the ordinary meaning of the statutory text and not supported by the context or purpose.
“When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck. A semi-automatic rifle equipped with a stock fires “automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading”, by a single function of the trigger. Because I, like Congress, call this a machine gun, I respectfully disagree,” Sotomayor wrote.
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Sprinklers water the lawn in front of the United States Supreme Court, Monday morning, April 29, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A humpback stock is an accessory that replaces the standard stock of a semi-automatic weapon, the part of the long weapon that rests on the shoulder.
Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works, sued the government after he was forced to surrender several “safety stocks” under the ATF. He argued that the agency exceeded its administrative authority to impose a ban, absent any congressional action.
“More than five years ago, I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, even though I was the sole plaintiff in this case. That is exactly what I did,” Cargill said Friday , an army veteran.
Mark Chenoweth, president of the New Civil Liberties Alliance and an attorney for Cargill, hailed Friday’s ruling as confirming our client’s position that the ATF does not have the authority to rewrite criminal laws. »
“The law passed by Congress does not prohibit bump stocks, and the ATF does not have the authority to do so alone. This result is entirely consistent with the Constitution’s grant of all legislative power “Any fear-mongering by opponents of replacement stocks should be directed against Congress, not the Court, which has faithfully implemented the statute before it,” Chenoweth said.
“The rule that the Court overturned today illegally confiscated more than 500,000 stocks of legally purchased large commodities from American citizens. It should never have been approved, and the bureaucrats responsible for this injustice should hang their heads shame,” he said.
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Vince Warner fires an AK-47 with a stock installed at Good Guys Gun and Range on February 21, 2018 in Orem, Utah. (George Frey/Getty Images)
Bumper stocks entered circulation early in this century, as one of several devices that could be attached to semi-automatic weapons.
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When the shooter applies forward thrust to the barrel, the device harnesses the recoil energy so that the trigger “bumps” the stationary finger, which then allows another shot to be fired. The effect is faster shots than with a standard stock.
The ATF says more than half a million buffer stocks were in circulation when the federal ban took effect five years ago, requiring them to be returned or destroyed.
