US appeals court blocks ban on rapid-fire 'bump stocks'

[sl8]

https://apnews.com/article/politics-new-orleans-texas-state-government-b5990ed60ebb617055cc8d5c36a84050

US appeals court blocks ban on rapid-fire ‘bump stocks’

By KEVIN McGILL
today

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Trump administration ban on bump stocks — devices that enable a shooter to rapidly fire multiple rounds from semi-automatic weapons after an initial trigger pull — was struck down Friday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

The ban was instituted after a gunman perched in a high-rise hotel using bump stock-equipped weapons massacred dozens of people in Las Vegas in 2017. Gun rights advocates have challenged it in multiple courts. The 13-3 ruling at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals is the latest on the issue, which is likely to be decided at the Supreme Court.

The decision doesn’t have an immediate effect on the ban though because the case now moves back to the lower court to decide how to proceed.

The case was somewhat unique because the issue involves not the Second Amendment but the interpretation of federal statutes. Opponents of the ban argued that bump stocks do not fall under the definition of illegal machine guns in federal law. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says they do, a position now being defended by the Biden administration.

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[AndyS]

1. The right wing court is turning the 2nd Amendment into a

suicide pact.

[littlewolf]

2. will USSC hear the case ...

[ManiacJoe]

3. The catch here is that the ATF does not have the authority to do what they did.

The easy fix is for Congress to give them the authority or for Congress to make the legislative change. This is similar to the ruling in the earlier EPA case.