WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to block a Trump administration initiative banning bump stocks, the attachments that enable semiautomatic rifles to fire in sustained, rapid bursts. The court’s action, in a one-sentence order, means that the regulation will remain in force while challenges to it move forward in the courts. The lead plaintiff, Gun Owners of America, which describes itself as “the ‘no compromise’ gun lobby,” argued that the administration had exceeded its authority by banning bump stocks under federal laws that largely ban machine guns. Bump stocks work by harnessing a firearm’s recoil energy to allow it to keep firing after a single pull of the trigger. The Justice Department has said this transforms semiautomatic weapons into fully automatic machine guns.

Source: New York Times March 28, 2019 16:13 UTC