WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on Friday struck down a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, a gun accessory that allows semiautomatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns and was used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
The decision, reached by the court’s conservative majority, overturns the ban imposed after a gunman used bump stocks in the 2017 Las Vegas massacre.
The ban, implemented by the Trump administration, aimed to prohibit bump stocks, which enable semiautomatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns. The gunman in the Las Vegas attack utilized assault rifles equipped with bump stocks, firing over 1,000 rounds into a crowd attending a country music festival. The devastating assault resulted in the deaths of 60 persons and left hundreds more injured.
Writing for the 6-3 majority, Justice Clarence Thomas outlined that the Trump administration’s ban on bump stocks did not adhere to federal law. The opinion emphasized that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not qualify as an illegal machine gun, as it does not enable the weapon to fire more than one shot with a single trigger pull.
“A bump stock merely reduces the amount of time that elapses between separate functions of the trigger,” Thomas explained, illustrating his point with detailed drawings of firearms’ firing mechanisms.
Joining Thomas in the majority opinion were conservative justices John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Alito penned a brief separate opinion underscoring that Congress retains the authority to amend the law to classify bump stocks as machine guns.
The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the bump stock ban has reignited debate over gun control measures and the regulation of firearm accessories. Advocates for stricter gun laws have expressed concerns about the ruling’s implications for public safety. Meanwhile, proponents of Second Amendment rights view the decision as a victory for gun owners’ rights and constitutional principles.
