Supreme Court strikes down federal ban on bulk stocks

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday that a federal ban on wholesale stocks was not constitutional.

A humpback stock effectively transforms a semi-automatic or single-fire weapon into a rapid-fire weapon. To do this, the gun hits the shooter's shoulder and trigger finger.

For a decade, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said cross-stocks were not machine guns, which are banned under federal law. However, the ATF changed course and banned bump stocks after the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, in which the shooter equipped his semi-automatic rifles with these devices, allowing him to shoot quickly to a concert from his Mandalay Bay hotel. hall, killing 60 people.

Justice Clarence Thomas explained why the court believes the ATF exceeded its authority in banning bump stocks, noting that a semi-automatic rifle “may not fire more than one round” by a single function of the trigger “”, which means that these are not machine guns. according to the definition of the law.

The Supreme Court dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, asserts that the majority ignores the similarities between machine guns and semi-automatic shock-stock weapons.

“The majority's logic simply fails to overcome the overwhelming textual and contextual evidence that 'single trigger' means a single action by the shooter to initiate a shooting sequence, including pulling the trigger and pushing forward on a semi-automatic equipped with a rifle stock,” Sotomayor wrote.

The case came to the Supreme Court after the New Civil Liberties Alliance challenged the wholesale stockpile ban, which was approved under the Trump administration. The group filed the lawsuit on behalf of Texas gun store owner Michael Cargill.

“I stood up and fought,” Cargill said immediately after the ruling. “And because of that, the replacement stock case is the case that’s going to save everything.”

Even though the case did not directly involve Second Amendment rights, gun rights activists still view the ruling as a victory.

“The Supreme Court rightly limited executive branch agencies to their role of enforcing the law, not making it. This decision will be critical to the NRA’s future challenges in regulating the ATF,” said Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA’s Legislative Action Institute.

U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, who represents Las Vegas, denounced the Supreme Court's decision.

“This is terrifying for many communities affected by gun violence, including the First District of Nevada and the victims of the October 1 shooting,” she said. “An angry lawmaker is a motivated lawmaker. This fight is far from over.”

President Joe Biden echoed Titus' statement, urging Congress to act.

“I am calling on Congress to ban bump stocks, pass an assault weapons ban, and take additional action to save lives – send me a bill and I will sign it immediately,” he said. -he declares.