Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday sided with a Texas man who challenged a federal rule enacted during the Trump administration that outlawed bump stocks, devices that greatly increase the rate of fire of semi-automatic weapons.
The 6-3 ruling invalidates the ban on bump stocks that was put in place following the 2017 mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas and finds that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms exceed its authority when it issued the ban in 2018.
The court’s ruling unwinds one of the few actions the federal government has taken in recent years to combat gun violence, as Republican opposition in Congress has made comprehensive firearms restrictions highly unlikely. The case did not involve the Second Amendment, but was one of several before the justices this term involving federal regulatory power.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
