US Appeals court rules bump stock devices are not ‘machine guns’

[Elderberry]

American Military News by Laura Widener   March 25, 2021

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that bump stock accessories cannot be considered “machine guns” and thus not subjected to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) ban.

On Dec. 26, 2018, ATF classified plastic bump stock accessories as “machine guns” defined in the Gun Control Act and National Firearms Act, despite them having no ability to fire on their own. The move came after former President Donald Trump’s Feb. 20, 2018 memo ordering the Attorney General to develop the ban, which was spurred by reactions to the deadly Oct. 2017 Las Vegas shooting carried out using bump stocks affixed to rifles.

“The district court erred by finding that the ATF’s Final Rule, which interpreted the meaning of a machine gun as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b), was entitled to Chevron deference,” the 6th Circuit ruling said, in reversing the district court’s decision.

“And because we find that “single function of the trigger” refers to the mechanical process of the trigger, we further hold that a bump stock cannot be classified as a machine gun because a bump stock does not enable a semiautomatic firearm to fire more than one shot each time the trigger is pulled.”

More: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/03/us-appeals-court-rules-bump-stock-devices-are-not-machine-guns/

[roamer_1]

American Military News by Laura Widener   March 25, 2021

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that bump stock accessories cannot be considered “machine guns” and thus not subjected to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) ban.

On Dec. 26, 2018, ATF classified plastic bump stock accessories as “machine guns” defined in the Gun Control Act and National Firearms Act, despite them having no ability to fire on their own. The move came after former President Donald Trump’s Feb. 20, 2018 memo ordering the Attorney General to develop the ban, which was spurred by reactions to the deadly Oct. 2017 Las Vegas shooting carried out using bump stocks affixed to rifles.

“The district court erred by finding that the ATF’s Final Rule, which interpreted the meaning of a machine gun as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b), was entitled to Chevron deference,” the 6th Circuit ruling said, in reversing the district court’s decision.

“And because we find that “single function of the trigger” refers to the mechanical process of the trigger, we further hold that a bump stock cannot be classified as a machine gun because a bump stock does not enable a semiautomatic firearm to fire more than one shot each time the trigger is pulled.”

More: https://americanmilitarynews.com/2021/03/us-appeals-court-rules-bump-stock-devices-are-not-machine-guns/

You mean Rubber bands and popsicle sticks are legal again? w00t! 

[PeteS in CA]

Other than spraying a large number of bullets into a large area quickly, I see little useful purpose for a bump stock. But as with other constitutionally protected rights, why another person uses their constitutionally protected right as they do, ultimately, is none of my damn business, and they are not obligated to explain themselves to me.

[Sled Dog]

Besides which....I don't see any verbage in the Second Amendment allowing the infringement of ownership of fully automatic weapons.

[thackney]

So does this impact the definition of an auto sear as a machine gun? 

...The National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. 5845(b), defines “machinegun” to include any
combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon to shoot
automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.

HELD: The auto sear known by various trade names including “AR15 Auto Sear,” “Drop In
Auto Sear,” and “Auto Sear II,” is a combination of parts designed and intended for use in
converting a weapon to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a
single function of the trigger. Consequently, the auto sear is a machinegun as defined by 26
U.S.C. 5845(b). ...

https://www.atf.gov/file/11236/download

[Elderberry]

So does this impact the definition of an auto sear as a machine gun? 

https://www.atf.gov/file/11236/download

Not until someone convicted for possessing one, has their case taken thru the courts and it's thrown out by a higher court.

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