On June 14, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the ATF’s 2018 prohibition on bump stocks. This case was fully backed by Guns Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation. GOA recently filed an amicus brief with the highest court in the land in this case, and previously filed their own independent challenge to the prohibition following meetings with the Trump administration and lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill did not yield any positive results.

Supreme Court justices argued that the ATF’s effort to re-categorize bump stocks as machine guns was a clear misinterpretation of the underlying federal law, as stressed by the Justices in the recent court opinion. 

Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, published the following statement:   

Today the Justices made crystal clear that the ATF went well beyond their statutory authority in promulgating this rule. While it’s a shame it took six years to right this wrong, GOA is nevertheless proud to have fought back since Day 1. And we will continue to do so anywhere there is illegal and unconstitutional gun control.

Aidan Johnston, GOA’s Director of Federal Affairs and a former bump stock owner, offered his take on the matter:  

As a former legal bump stock owner, this is incredibly gratifying. The ATF’s unilateral 180 on this issue was illegal from the start, and I’m now looking into the best way to seek compensation from ATF for being forced to destroy my legal firearm accessory in violation of my Second Amendment rights. I have already begun the process of 3D printing another bump stock.

The bump stock ban was one of the pettiest gun grabs that the Trump administration co-signed. It was a mistake to implement such a measure. Thankfully, gun owners made enough of a stink and got litigation campaigns to rectify this situation in the courts. 

A solid victory to say the least. However, the fight to restore gun rights is far from over. Until the ATF is abolished, gun rights will continue to be targeted by petty tyrants in the bureaucracy.