The US Supreme Court has ruled that a federal ban on "bump stock" devices, which increase the firing rate of semi-automatic weapons, is unlawful. In a six-to-three
decision, the justices upheld a lower court's ruling that sided with a gun shop owner and advocate for gun rights. They argued that a federal agency had improperly interpreted a law prohibiting machine guns to include bump stocks.
Conservative justices formed the majority, while liberal justices dissented. The ban was originally implemented in 2019 by the Trump administration following the use of bump stocks in a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that claimed 58 lives.
President Joe Biden criticized the Supreme Court's decision, referring to the 2017 incident and stating, "Today’s decision strikes down an important gun safety regulation. Americans should not have to live in fear of this mass devastation." He called on Congress to enact legislation banning bump stocks, implementing an assault weapon ban, and taking further measures to address gun violence.
Gun violence remains a significant issue in the United States, with 251 mass shootings reported so far this year and 18,854 gun-related deaths recorded last year according to Gun Violence Archive. Photo by Marielam1, Wikimedia commons.
