SCOTUS overturns bump stock ban in a major victory for gun rights.

 

A bump stock. Politico/AP.

The Supreme Court has overturned the ban on bump stocks in a major victory for gun rights. Politico. In a 6-3 decision, the Court said that the ban, put in place by the Trump administration after the Las Vegas mass shooting, went far beyond the law. Bump stocks were argued to turn regular rifles into full auto firearms but the court pointed out that the stocks did nothing that a normal person with a quick finger could do, they do not actually increase the fire rate of the weapon. Justice Samuel Alito also slammed the executive branch for trying to do an end-run around the legislative branch. The Court's three liberal justices disagreed. 

My Comment:

For those of you that say I never criticize Donald Trump, well, the bump stock ban was one of the dumbest and worst things he ever did and I am very glad that this got turned over. It was never a serious argument that a bump stock actually turns a rifle into a machine gun. Indeed, you can get the same result with a piece of string or, as Benicio del Toro demonstrated in Sicaro 2, with a finger. 

The scene above also demonstrates why it's so dumb to ban these devices. Bump firing doesn't turn a weapon into a machine gun, it just makes it inaccurate and is little more than a range trick. No serious shooter would use a bump stock in a real combat situation as it only simulates full auto fire and doesn't even do a good job at it. Since full auto is mostly useless unless used as suppressive fire, there's very little reason for anyone to ever use it unless they are having fun at a gun range. Del Toro's character in the movie did it because it was a flashy gun trick that made his assassination look cool and memorable, not because it was effective. He only used it when he was executing an already wounded and defenseless man and he only did it that way because he wanted to make the news. 

Yes, Stephan Paddock used bump stocks during the Las Vegas shooting, but that's the exception that proves the rule. Paddock was a near-genius who did something nobody had done before or since with those rifles and even then he had to have near perfect conditions, an elevated perch, little interference from law enforcement and a literal pile of rifles to accomplish what he accomplished. For a normal person adding a bump stock actually makes the weapon less effective since you won't be taking aimed shots with the weapon and risk burning up the rifle from firing it too fast, which is what Paddock did. In his case it didn't matter because he had piles of AR's but for most people that's never going to be an option. 

Even if you disagree and think that bump stocks can be banned, it's clear that Alito was right and the ATF and White House could not legally do it the way they wanted. Nothing in the NFA said that a gun is a machine gun if it does something similar to full auto if you use motivated reasoning and squint a little. A machine gun as a solid definition and if the government wants to change that so it covers bump stocks they have to do it the right way, through congress, not arbitrarily and against the law. 

Will bump stocks remain legal? I am not sure. The Court certainly left the door open for Congress to ban bump stocks as long as they go that route and not through the executive. The real question is if Congress even wants too, Republicans are treating this as a win and even Trump is saying we should respect the Court's ruling here so I doubt there is much motivation to do so. As long as the GOP controls the House, I can't see a bump stock ban passing. 

Plus there is no urgency to the issue, like I said, Paddock's Las Vegas shooting was about the only time bump stocks were used in a mass shooting. Glock switches? Sure, but those probably actually do count as machine guns. Bump stocks are different and are rare enough that I can't see people actually using them for crime, especially with all the downsides I listed above. Indeed, it might be a good thing if they do as it would make it easier to escape from their inaccurate fire! 

As for me, I still think that bump stocks and bump firing in general, is a pretty dumb thing. Accurate fire is always more important than rate of fire. Plus it's a waste of expensive ammo and could even damage your firearm if you use it at a gun range. I don't support a ban as I don't really support any gun regulations, but a bump stock isn't something that I am ever going to purchase for myself.