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Online demand for bump stocks could follow high court ruling reversing Trump-era ban, area gun shops say
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Don鈥檛 expect to see bump stocks on the shelves at New Mexico gun stores despite a Supreme Court ruling on Friday that struck down a federal ban on the rapid-fire accessory.
The high court ruled in a 6-3 majority opinion that the Trump administration overreached when it banned a device used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Shortly after the ruling was announced, two members of New Mexico鈥檚 congressional delegation on Friday called for federal legislation banning bump stocks.
Bump stocks, which were something of a fad years ago, are likely to become widely available online in the wake of the ruling, said Ryan Burt, CEO of Calibers gun store in Albuquerque. And undoubtedly, some people will buy them, he said.
鈥淭heir popularity really went out quite awhile ago,鈥� Burt said of bump stocks. 鈥淭hey were kind of a novelty act.鈥�
The Trump administration banned bump stocks after a gunman in 2017 fired more than 1,000 rounds into a crowd at a country music festival using semiautomatic rifles equipped with the accessories. The shooting killed 60 people, wounded hundreds more and sent thousands of people fleeing in terror at the outdoor event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The high court鈥檚 majority opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas found the Justice Department was wrong to declare that bump stocks transformed semiautomatic rifles into illegal machine guns because, he wrote, each trigger depression in rapid succession still only releases one shot.
The Supreme Court majority found that the 1934 law against machine guns defined them as weapons that could automatically fire more than one shot by a single function of the trigger. Bump stocks don鈥檛 fit that definition because 鈥渢he trigger must still be released and reengaged to fire each additional shot,鈥� Thomas wrote. He also pointed to over a decade of ATF鈥檚 findings that claimed bump stocks weren鈥檛 automatic weapons.
Calibers hasn鈥檛 sold bump stocks for at least a decade and doesn鈥檛 plan to resume selling them, Burt said. But the Supreme Court ruling likely will result in a surge in online sales of bump stocks.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure there鈥檚 going to be some demand,鈥� Burt said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see it being a long-lasting demand. Personally, we鈥檙e not going to be getting in the market.鈥�
The Supreme Court ruling drew fire Friday from U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, both New Mexico Democrats.
鈥淭oday, the Supreme Court failed Americans,鈥� Stansbury said in a written statement. 鈥淚鈥檓 calling on my colleagues in Congress 鈥� we must act now to protect Americans. We must swiftly pass a ban on bump stocks.鈥�
Heinrich called the ruling a 鈥減ro-death decision by an out of touch Supreme Court majority鈥� and called for a swift ban on bump stocks.
鈥淎fter hundreds of Americans had gunfire rain down on them at an outdoor music festival in 2017, I led the effort to ban bump stocks,鈥� Heinrich said in a written statement. 鈥淓ven former President Trump agreed then, heeding my calls to ban bump stocks in a federal rule.鈥�
Donald Trump鈥檚 decision to ban bump stocks through regulation rather than legislation took pressure off Republicans to act following the massacre and another mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent
Gun Violence, said the ruling signals a willingness by the Supreme Court to legalize other devices designed to turn semiautomatic rifles into rapid-fire weapons.
鈥淭he Las Vegas shooting is a perfect example of why bump stocks have no business being in a civilian population,鈥� Viscoli said.
Bump stocks are accessories that replace a rifle鈥檚 stock, the part that rests against the shoulder. They harness the gun鈥檚 recoil energy so that the trigger bumps against the shooter鈥檚 stationary finger, allowing the gun to fire at a similar speed as an automatic weapon.
Arnie Gallegos, owner of ABQ Guns in Albuquerque, said he doesn鈥檛 intend to carry bump stocks in his store but may list them for sale on his website.
鈥淧ersonally, I鈥檓 not a big fan,鈥� Gallegos said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not accurate. You spray a lot of rounds down range, but you can鈥檛 be accurate with it.鈥�
Bump stocks move the rifle forward and backward, increasing the rate of fire but making it difficult to hit a target with accuracy.
鈥淗ere is Albuquerque they really weren鈥檛 in that high a demand,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 personally didn鈥檛 think they were useful.鈥�
