The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments last Wednesday on an appeal regarding the legality of a Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule that banned the rapid-fire ability of a “bump stock”. This case is the continuation of a previous ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which had struck down the said rule.
Principal Deputy Solicitor General Brian H. Fletcher represented the ATF. The day saw Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Justice Elena Kagan examining Fletcher on the functioning of a bump stock compared to a fully automatic machine gun. Fletcher’s explanation of a bump stock device was that it harnessed the recoil energy of the gun to automate the trigger-reset process and ensure the rifle moves forward.
Arguing against the ATF’s final rule, Attorney Jonathan F. Mitchell stated that a shotgun with a bump stock still has to reset after each shot. Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Kagan then questioned Mitchell on the “function” of bump stock devices and their use in increasing the rate of fire, similar to a traditional automatic machine gun. Mitchell, however, focused predominantly on the text of the statute in dispute and the differing trigger functions between a bump stock and an automatic weapon.
The Trump administration had implemented the ban in March 2019, following the horrific incident in Las Vegas in 2017 where a gunman with a bump stock attachment killed 58 people. Interestingly, the Supreme Court had declined to hear a challenge to this ban in November 2022.
For the complete story, visit the detailed report at Jurist – News.