The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a challenge Wednesday to a federal ban on gun “bump stocks” in a case that could affect thousands of gun-owning Americans.
In the Garland v. Cargill case, a “bump stock” device is defined under federal law because it is designed and intended to be used to convert a rifle into an “automatically firing weapon.” The question has been raised as to whether it falls under the category of “machine gun”. One shot…by a single function of the trigger. ”
In response to the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 60 people and injured more than 500, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued an interpretation rule concluding that “bump stocks” are machine guns. did.
According to the ATF, a “bump stock” is an attachment that allows a semi-automatic rifle to mimic the “periodic rate of fire that mimics near-continuous automatic fire” of a fully automatic rifle.
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United States Supreme Court (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
Experts say semi-automatic rifles with “bump stocks” can fire hundreds of rounds per minute.
They were originally created to make it easier for people with disabilities to fire guns. The device essentially replaces the gun’s stock and pistol grip, causing the gun to bounce back and forth, repeatedly “bumping” the trigger into the shooter’s finger.
Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works, sued the government after being forced to surrender some “bump stocks” under ATF rules.
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A man fires an AK-47 equipped with a “bump stock” at Goodguys Gun and Range in Orem, Utah, on February 21, 2018. A “bump stock” is a device that, when installed, allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire at high velocity, similar to a fully automatic gun. (George Fry/Getty Images)
“It really goes back to…freedom. And it goes back to just the basics of what my customers and I legally purchase. The government shouldn’t have that power, that power in the executive branch…back Come and ban it. You. “That’s something that Congress hasn’t banned. That would be a job reserved for Congress,” Cargill said in an interview on Fox News Digital.
“And, you know, I don’t think the Supreme Court ever intended for government agencies to actually do anything to this extent.”
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Mr. Cargill said: opened his business That’s because I wanted to teach people how to properly handle and shoot guns.
“I wanted them to know what the law was. I wanted them to follow the law. And that’s why I focus my business model on training and classes. Because we want to make sure everything is done correctly,” Cargill said.
When ATF rules changed, Cargill realized that by reinterpreting the machine gun ban to cover “bump stocks,” it made what was previously legal illegal, making it illegal for it and its I realized that I was causing problems for my customers.
“Bump Stock” on display in Harrisonburg, Virginia on March 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Steve Herber, File)
“It was creating a problem and we wanted to solve that problem,” Cargill said.
Cargill said many of its customers who purchased the bump stocks were disabled veterans.
“Just recently I had the opportunity to teach a young man who had lost an arm and hand how to shoot again, so I taught him how to shoot with his feet. We know there are different obstacles and we try to find ways to help them,” Cargill explained.
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Three appellate courts agreed with the ATF’s pre-2018 opinion that non-mechanical “bump stocks” are not “machine guns.”[s]” Meanwhile, two other appellate courts agreed with ATF’s current interpretation.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) is arguing the case on behalf of Cargill.
“This is not a gun rights case. This is an executive power case,” said NCLA President and General Counsel Mark Chenoweth.
“Congress never gave the ATF the authority to rewrite federal criminal law regarding machine guns, and it has not been able to do so. Enacting federal criminal law is the sole power of Congress, and the Trump and Biden administrations committed a grave constitutional error in attempting to ban the without involving Congress. We are confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will right this wrong for Michael Cargill and all Americans. ”
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday at 10 a.m.
