SCOTUS Declines to Hear Gun Rights Case on Bumpstocks

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The Facts

  • On Monday, the US Supreme Court refused to take two cases that challenged a ban on 'bump stocks' - gun attachments designed to allow semi-automatic guns to fire rapidly, in a similar fashion to machine guns.

  • Bump stocks were banned during President Donald Trump's administration, following a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 that killed 58 people. The shooter in that tragedy employed the technology, which uses the recoil of a trigger pull to enable a shooter to fire up to hundreds of rounds per minute.


The Spin

Right narrative

This is a dangerous SCOTUS decision that enables the government to further encroach on second amendment liberties by defining thousands of bump stock owners as felons. This will only embolden the executive branch to pursue its goal of criminalizing all gun ownership.

Left narrative

Lower courts were correct to leave the ban in place and, together with this SCOTUS decision, Americans are being protected from future massacres akin to the tragedy that occurred in Las Vegas. Dangerous bump stocks, which are correctly categorized by the ATF, will become harder to obtain by criminals and lawful gun users alike.


Metaculus Prediction


Political split

LEFT

RIGHT