ATF Ban on Bump Stocks Thrown Out by U.S. Supreme Court
In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on bump stocks, ruling that putting a bump stock on a semiautomatic rifle does not turn it into a “machinegun.”
The 6-3 decision in Garland v. Cargill throws out a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule that banned bump stocks, which can allow a weapon to fire hundreds of rounds a minute.
ATF notes that the ruling only applies to non-mechanical bump stocks and that other devices that ATF has classified as machinegun “conversion devices” are not impacted.
The court’s six conservatives sided with Michael Cargill, an Austin, Texas gun shop owner who brought the case. Cargill bought two bump stocks shortly before ATF issued its ruling classifying bump stocks as machineguns and had to turn them in to the authorities.
In its decision, the Justices rejected the argument that bump stocks are effectively machine guns, which are largely prohibited under federal law.
“With or without a bump stock, a shooter must release and reset the trigger between every shot,” wrote Justice Clarence Thomas in the majority opinion, which drew heavily on diagrams and detailed analysis on how the shots are fired.
Justice Samuel Alito joined in that opinion, noting that it’s up to Congress to outlaw bump stocks.
In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted, “By maintaining a myopic view focused on these mechanisms, the majority puts machine guns back in the hands of the people.”
The bump stock rule was enacted after the 2017 mass shooting at a concert in Las Vegas, in which the shooter used a weapon with a modified bump stock.
Administration Reaction
There was strong reaction to the ruling from the Biden Administration.
“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,” said President Biden in a statement.
ATF Director Steven Dettelbach echoed the President’s comments, writing on X, “ATF stands ready to work with Congress to ensure that these devices no longer pose a threat to American law enforcement and the people they protect.”