WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a ban on “bump stocks” like those used in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting, when 60 people were killed and 500 wounded at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas in 2017. After the Las Vegas shooting, President Trump ordered the federal regulators to reclassify bump stocks as illegal machine guns because they permit a shooter to fire hundreds of rounds per minute. Congress first restricted machine guns in 1934 in response to the gangland murders during Prohibition, including the Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago. The Las Vegas shooter had an arsenal of assault-style rifles in his hotel room overlooking the concert site. Michael Cargill, a Texas gun store owner, turned in his two bump stocks and then sued to challenge the law.

Source: Los Angeles Times June 14, 2024 15:43 UTC