SCOTUS Says ATF Exceed
Authority With Bump Stock Ban

In a 6-3 ruling Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its authority when it reversed its own policy on bump stocks by banning the devices in the aftermath of the October 2017 Las Vegas, Nevada mass shooting.

For many years, ATF had taken the position that semiautomatic rifles fitted with the devices were not machineguns. In the wake of the Las Vegas tragedy, the agency abruptly reversed itself, ordering bump stock owners to turn them in or destroy them. Michael Cargill, the plaintiff in this case, surrendered two bump stocks under protest and quickly filed a federal lawsuit. The case wound its way through the courts and finally was argued before the Supreme Court.

Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas stated, "We conclude that semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a 'machinegun' because it does not fire more than one shot 'by a single function of the trigger.'

"For many years,," Justice Thomas wrote, "the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) took the position that semiautomatic rifles equipped with bump stocks were not machineguns under the statute." .....