United States: The Supreme Court decided on Friday that a civil prohibition on” bump stocks,” which are arm attachments that speed up the blasting of robotic munitions, is illegal, dealing a reversal to the Biden administration.
Supreme Court Decision
In a 6-3 decision based on ideological differences, the court’s conservative majority determined that bump stocks could not lawfully be included in the almost 100-year-old machine gun ban.
Under federal law, Justice Clarence Thomas said that a firearm equipped with an accessory does not meet the definition of “a machinegun” written by the majority.
Dissenting Opinion
Justice Sonia Sotomayor who is a leftist, vigorously dissented from the decision.
She added, “When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck,” in allusion to the way semiautomatic rifles with bump stocks function like machine guns. In addition, Sotomayor made the uncommon move of summarizing her disagreement in court.
State and Federal Responses
Not all states can easily access bump stocks, even if the federal ban remains. According to the nonprofit gun control organization Everytown for Gun Safety, eighteen states have already outlawed them. Congress might also take action.
Historical Context
In the past thing happened in the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017, which saw Stephen Paddock open fire on a country music festival using firearms modified with some advance attachments called bump stocks, killing 58 people at first, the Trump administration banned in place.
In her disapproval, Sotomayor brought up the shooting in Las Vegas.
“All he had to do was press the rifle forward and pull the trigger. The bump stock handled the rest,” she stated.
The decision, she stated, “hamstrings the government’s efforts to keep machineguns from gunmen like the Las Vegas shooter.”
Implications
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito acknowledged in a concurring opinion that a pistol with a bump stock is practically very comparable to a machine gun and that Congress should take action to outlaw the device.
“A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a attachments can have the same lethal effect as a machinegun,” he continued, illustrating how the “horrible shooting spree” in Las Vegas strengthened the case for legislative action.
