- Press Release
SCOTUS Legalizes Bump Stocks, MFOL Responds
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“There will be another shooting, and it will be exponentially more deadly because of bump stocks. That blood will be on the Supreme Court’s hands.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gun violence and upheld the Fifth Circuit’s misguided and deadly decision in Garland v. Cargill, overturning a Trump-era ban on bump stocks. While this ruling rests fundamentally on an interpretation of statutes, not the Second Amendment, its consequences will be deadly. The Supreme Court has effectively given mass shooters the easy ability to turn any event or public space into a war zone and mass grave.
Bump stocks enable shooters to mimic the rapid-firing capability of fully automatic weapons, essentially turning semi-automatic weapons into machine guns—which have been regulated since 1934. The ATF under former President Trump banned bump stocks following the deadliest mass shooting in American history, where the shooter used bump stocks to kill 58 people and injure nearly 500, at a musical festival in Las Vegas in 2017. Let’s be clear: there will unfortunately be more mass shootings given our lax gun laws, and this ruling will make them more deadly. The Supreme Court’s refusal to overturn the Fifth Circuit’s decision will have deadly consequences, and the Justices who voted in favor of this decision will have blood on their hands.
While this decision is egregious, dangerous, and out of touch, we can’t say we’re surprised. The NRA spent $2 million to help place ideological extremists on the bench who have done nothing but bend over backward to serve the gun lobby. The recent audio recordings of the Justices depict exactly what we already knew – that they are extreme, ultra-conservative, partisan, and rely on their own personal beliefs to make decisions rather than settled constitutional jurisprudence.
“Let’s be clear: young people will die because of the Supreme Court’s decision today,” Ciara Malone, Legal Director at March For Our Lives. “This ruling is wrong, dangerous, and completely out of touch with what Americans want and deserve from the highest court in our nation. Banning bump stocks is not controversial. It was Trump’s administration that banned them. The outcome of this decision will mean more weapons of war in more places, which will inevitably lead to more avoidable deaths. It is clear once again that the Supreme Court of today is an undemocratic political animal, more interested in scoring political points than protecting the lives of children. Guns are the leading cause of death for children, and in the midst of this surge in gun violence, the Court is telling young people that our lives aren’t worth saving.”
“The illegitimately appointed arch-conservative supermajority of the Supreme Court has once again proven that it doesn’t care about the vast majority of Americans’ opinions, or about supporting and protecting America’s youth,” said Makennan McBryde, Legal Associate at March For Our Lives. “This is yet another decision coming from an ultra-partisan sect of the highest court in the land at the bequest of the wealthy donors lining their pockets. Through these unprecedented and legally dubious decisions, the court is increasingly becoming an illegitimate institution in the eyes of young people, with nearly 70% of young people disapproving of the court. March For Our Lives, the largest youth-led organization in the nation, says clearly: We will not f*cking stand for this. We will continue to fight for the future we deserve and for policies that prioritize the rights, well-being, and future of America’s youth.
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