SCOTUS Considers Challenge to Bump Stock Ban, Enacted Under Trump
Democracy NowFeb 26
SCOTUS Overturns Bump Stock Ban
Image copyright: Anna Moneymaker/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
In a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) had "exceeded" its authority when it banned bump stock gun attachments.
The ATF banned bump stocks, which are gun accessories that allow semiautomatic firearms to shoot more rapidly, in response to the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting. The shooter, Stephen Paddock, had used a bump stock to kill an initial 58 people.
The Spin
Republican narrative
The law clearly states that only automatic weapons are banned, and bump stocks in no way turn semiautomatics into automatic weapons. The ATF blatantly overstepped its authority and violated the law in response to heightened political tensions. No federal agency has the right to strip Americans' of their Second Amendment rights just to satisfy certain public opinions.
Democratic narrative
If you want to know whether bump stocks turn semiautomatic rifles into machine guns, just ask the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. While many states took action to prevent these deadly tools from ever being used again, SCOTUS has chosen to turn a blind eye to gun violence victims. Congress must now fill the moral vacuum left by the court and pass a bump stock ban.
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