WASHINGTON D.C. (CNN) – The Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks approved by former President Donald Trump.
His administration had pushed for the ban in response to a 2017 mass shooting that killed 58 people at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas.
Bump stocks convert a semi-automatic rifle into a weapon that can fire at a rate of hundreds of rounds a minute.
The ban was challenged by a Texas gun store owner who purchased two of the devices in 2018. He turned them over to the government after the ban was implemented and then promptly sued to get them back.
The federal rule made possession of a bump stock a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion for the 6-3 court ruling. He said a bump stock is not more effective in firing quicker rounds than a shooter “with a lightning-fast trigger finger.”
The high court’s liberal wing, led by Justice Sonia Sotomayer, dissented with the ruling, writing it would result in “deadly consequences.”
The decision was the latest from the high court to side with gun rights groups.
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