A federal appeals court handed down a ruling on Friday that was against the ban on bump stocks imposed by the Trump administration after the horrific massacre in Las Vegas in 2017. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rejected the ban in a 13-3 decision, reasoning that the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) had exceeded its authority when implementing it.
The ATF had sought to ban bump stocks in 2018 at President Trump’s behest, interpreting “single function of the trigger” and “automatically” so as to categorize guns with bump stocks as illegal machine guns under existing federal law. Bump stocks are devices that can be attached to semi-automatic rifles to simulate an automatic weapon.
Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote in her lead opinion that upon close examination of both statutory language and semi-automatic firearm mechanics, it became clear that bump stocks did not fall into the official definition of “machinegun” articulated by both the Gun Control Act and National Firearms Act. Rich Samp, attorney for the plaintiff who challenged the government’s forcible removal of his bump stock equipment, remarked that this case is actually not about gun control; rather, it concerns who has ultimate authority to set gun laws – Congress or prosecutorial entities such as ATF.
The 5th Circuit’s decision may portend a potential Supreme Court showdown over regulation concerning these devices; while it has been struck down by this particular court circuit, other circuits have yet to make similar rulings. The Gun Owners of America, which filed a separate lawsuit against overturning the ban, lauded this decision as essential for preserving Second Amendment rights from arbitrary bans and protecting gun owners from any new attacks launched by Joe Biden’s ATF. Ultimately, it will be up to a lower court to decide where this case goes next.