President Joe Biden slammed the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a ban on bump stocks Friday, saying the ruling will put lives in danger.
“Americans should not have to live in fear of this mass devastation,” Biden said in a statement.
The 6-3 decision, which fell along ideological lines, found that the government overstepped its authority in banning bump stocks, a gun accessory that transforms a semiautomatic rifle into one that functions similarly to a machine gun.
The high court ruled in favor of Michael Cargill, a gun store owner who challenged the ban. In response, Biden, who has called for greater gun control throughout his time in the White House, said the decision “strikes down an important gun safety regulation.”
Biden mentioned the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, saying the shooter used a weapon modified with a bump stock to fire more than 1,000 bullets in 10 minutes, killing 60 people and wounding hundreds more.
“While extreme Congressional Republicans want to defund the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, I have used every tool in my administration to stamp out gun violence,” the president said.
“I nominated the first Senate-confirmed director of the ATF since 2015,” Biden continued. “My administration ensured that the ATF has the funding it needs to address emerging firearm technologies like machinegun conversion devices and ghost guns that pose a unique and acute threat to public safety.”
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion for the Supreme Court.
“A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not fire more than one shot ‘by a single function of the trigger,’” Thomas wrote. “With or without a bump stock, a shooter must release and reset the trigger between every shot.”
The ban was actually implemented by the Trump administration, which issued it in 2017 following the Las Vegas shooting.
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Biden, in his statement, pointed to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 as evidence of his commitment to curb gun-related violence. But he said that more needs to be done.
“We know thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Biden said. “I call on Congress to ban bump stocks, pass an assault weapon ban, and take additional action to save lives — send me a bill and I will sign it immediately.”
Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
