Democrats respond to Supreme Court gun ruling with new bill to fix it
When the Supreme Court overturned a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, an accessory that turns semiautomatic rifles into weapons of mass destruction, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his concurrence that there was a “simple remedy” to ban the part: “Congress can act.” The Senate is attempting to do just that, with Democrats trying to pass a bipartisan bill to ban bump stocks on Tuesday. They are trying to bring the bill to the floor under unanimous consent, a way of fast-tracking its passage. The move takes on both Republicans—who will certainly object—and the Supreme Court. In a floor statement, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed the court. “We must act because a few days ago, the MAGA Supreme Court struck once again, saying the federal government has no power to ban the sale of bump stocks,” he said. “The MAGA Court’s decision is an utter disgrace—it will endanger our communities, endanger law enforcement, and make it easier for mass shooters to unleash carnage. Last week’s decision is another warning sign that this MAGA court is going off the deep end, aligning with the most extreme elements of the hard-right.” The bill comes from Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Republican Sen. Susan Collins from Maine. Since the court’s Friday ruling, the bill has gained 20 new cosponsors. The ruling was not based on the Second Amendment grounds but on tortured semantics: What did Congress mean when it effectively banned people from owning machine guns back in the 1930s? Even though a semiautomatic with a bump stock could kill 58 people and injure more than 800 in a matter of minutes just like a machine gun, the majority argued that it couldn’t be called a machine gun. Despite the fact that this isn’t a gun ownership issue and that the bill is at least nominally bipartisan, Republicans are not likely to allow it to go forward. Even though, as Schumer points out, it was their guy who established the regulation in the first place. “What today’s bill does is return things to the status quo set by Donald Trump, saying bump stocks are dangerous and should be prohibited,” Schumer said. “Senate Republicans by and large supported Donald Trump’s ban on bump stocks back then, so they should support this bill today.” RELATED STORIES: Justice Sotomayor calls out every conservative in gun case dissent Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on gun accessories used in 2017 massacre Campaign Action
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When the Supreme Court overturned a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, an accessory that turns semiautomatic rifles into weapons of mass destruction, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his concurrence that there was a “simple remedy” to ban the part: “Congress can act.”
The Senate is attempting to do just that, with Democrats trying to pass a bipartisan bill to ban bump stocks on Tuesday. They are trying to bring the bill to the floor under unanimous consent, a way of fast-tracking its passage. The move takes on both Republicans—who will certainly object—and the Supreme Court.
In a floor statement, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed the court.
“We must act because a few days ago, the MAGA Supreme Court struck once again, saying the federal government has no power to ban the sale of bump stocks,” he said. “The MAGA Court’s decision is an utter disgrace—it will endanger our communities, endanger law enforcement, and make it easier for mass shooters to unleash carnage. Last week’s decision is another warning sign that this MAGA court is going off the deep end, aligning with the most extreme elements of the hard-right.”
The bill comes from Democratic Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Republican Sen. Susan Collins from Maine. Since the court’s Friday ruling, the bill has gained 20 new cosponsors.
The ruling was not based on the Second Amendment grounds but on tortured semantics: What did Congress mean when it effectively banned people from owning machine guns back in the 1930s? Even though a semiautomatic with a bump stock could kill 58 people and injure more than 800 in a matter of minutes just like a machine gun, the majority argued that it couldn’t be called a machine gun.
Despite the fact that this isn’t a gun ownership issue and that the bill is at least nominally bipartisan, Republicans are not likely to allow it to go forward. Even though, as Schumer points out, it was their guy who established the regulation in the first place.
“What today’s bill does is return things to the status quo set by Donald Trump, saying bump stocks are dangerous and should be prohibited,” Schumer said. “Senate Republicans by and large supported Donald Trump’s ban on bump stocks back then, so they should support this bill today.”
RELATED STORIES:
Justice Sotomayor calls out every conservative in gun case dissent
Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on gun accessories used in 2017 massacre Campaign Action
