Bump stock inventor celebrates Supreme Court victory
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, struck down the federal ban on a gun device known as a bump stock.
The central question was whether bump stocks, when attached to a semi-automatic rifle, transform those guns into illegal machine guns. Justice Clarence Thomas, in the majority opinion, wrote, "We hold that it does not."
In 2017, investigators found bump stocks attached to the guns used in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, which killed 58 people - the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. President Donald Trump subsequently called for a ban on the gun accessories.
Jeremiah Cottle, the inventor of the bump stock, told CBS News Texas, "I've waited over half a decade for justice after the President of the United States unconstitutionally targeted my company and invention. Today is a win for the American people."
In 2018, Cottle's company, SlideFire, the maker of bump stocks, closed due to the ban and lawsuits. The company's closure was a blow to the local economy of Moran, Texas (about 130 miles west of Fort Worth).
Shortly after the ban was enacted, local online retailers sent tens of thousands of brand-new bump stocks to a Fort Worth recycling plant for destruction. At that time, the government estimated that U.S. residents possessed over 500,000 bump stocks.
Gun rights advocates hailed Friday's ruling as a victory for the Second Amendment. Meanwhile, the President of Everytown Gun Safety called on Congress to pass legislation banning bump stocks, which he referred to as "accessories of war that have no place in our communities."