The US Supreme Court has made a landmark ruling by lifting the federal ban on modifying firearms to increase their rate of fire. The court, with six votes to three, overturned a decision made by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2018 that categorized a controversial weapon accessory known as “bump stocks” as light machine guns, which were banned by law since 1934.
In her dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that allowing bump stocks to be used in firearms would only lead to more gun violence. However, Judge Clarence Thomas explained that the classification of a semi-automatic rifle with a ‘bump stock’ as a light machine gun was incorrect because it does not allow firing more than one shot with a single press of the trigger. This ruling stems from a law enacted in 1934, well before the invention of bump stock accessories.
The case was brought to light following the tragic massacre in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, where 58 people were killed and over 500 were injured. Many of the rifles used in the shooting had bump stocks attached, allowing them to fire at an accelerated rate of up to nine rounds per second.
In response to the Las Vegas shooting and a similar incident at a school in Florida shortly after, the Trump administration pledged to ban bump stocks. In December of the same year, the ATF declared bump stocks as light machine guns, giving owners 90 days to surrender or destroy them.
This decision by the Supreme Court has sparked discussions and debates about gun control and regulations in the United States. It remains a controversial and sensitive topic that continues to be scrutinized by lawmakers, activists, and the general public. Some argue that this ruling will lead to more gun violence while others see it as an important step towards protecting individual rights and freedoms enshrined in the Second Amendment.
