The U.S. remains divided on how to solve the gun violence issue in the country after Friday’s Supreme Court decision overturned a federal ban on bump stocks.”What the Court did today is really rolling back what otherwise is important progress to be made to prevent gun violence in America,” said Vice President Kamala Harris.The justices, in a 6-3 partisan split, overturned the Trump-era ban on bump stocks that was implemented after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. A gunman used a bump stock to fire more than 1,000 rounds into a music festival crowd in Las Vegas. The attack lasted 11 minutes, killed 60 people, and wounded hundreds more.In a statement, President Joe Biden pointed to actions that addressed gun violence since he took office, like the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022 – which expanded background checks for the youngest gun buyers. President Biden also urged Congress to ban assault weapons and bump stocks.”We’d be light years ahead, and our communities would be safer,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat from California. “There are other types of manufactured components that people buy illegally and attach to or insert to firearms illegally that make them prohibited firearms.”Video above: Supreme Court term nears end with major cases unresolvedHowever, conservative groups argue it’s not a problem for Congress to solve, and gun violence protections are already in place.”We would look at this not as a problem of ‘we don’t have enough gun laws,’ right? We don’t have enough laws disarming violent people. We would look at this as a problem as we have the laws in place. We’re just really bad at enforcing it,” said Amy Swearer of The Heritage Foundation.The Heritage Foundation said federal policy can unfairly impact law-abiding citizens. “Most of these prosecutions and prosecutorial decisions are taking place at a state and local level. It’s not Congress’s fault if violent criminals are being released on bail,” Swearer added.Plaintiffs in this case argued that about 500,000 bump stocks were in circulation when the ban went into effect.
The U.S. remains divided on how to solve the gun violence issue in the country after Friday’s Supreme Court decision overturned a federal ban on bump stocks.
“What the Court did today is really rolling back what otherwise is important progress to be made to prevent gun violence in America,” said Vice President Kamala Harris.
The justices, in a 6-3 partisan split, overturned the Trump-era ban on bump stocks that was implemented after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. A gunman used a bump stock to fire more than 1,000 rounds into a music festival crowd in Las Vegas. The attack lasted 11 minutes, killed 60 people, and wounded hundreds more.
In a statement, President Joe Biden pointed to actions that addressed gun violence since he took office, like the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022 – which expanded background checks for the youngest gun buyers. President Biden also urged Congress to ban assault weapons and bump stocks.
“We’d be light years ahead, and our communities would be safer,” said Rep. Mike Thompson, a Democrat from California. “There are other types of manufactured components that people buy illegally and attach to or insert to firearms illegally that make them prohibited firearms.”
Video above: Supreme Court term nears end with major cases unresolved
However, conservative groups argue it’s not a problem for Congress to solve, and gun violence protections are already in place.
“We would look at this not as a problem of ‘we don’t have enough gun laws,’ right? We don’t have enough laws disarming violent people. We would look at this as a problem as we have the laws in place. We’re just really bad at enforcing it,” said Amy Swearer of The Heritage Foundation.
The Heritage Foundation said federal policy can unfairly impact law-abiding citizens.
“Most of these prosecutions and prosecutorial decisions are taking place at a state and local level. It’s not Congress’s fault if violent criminals are being released on bail,” Swearer added.
Plaintiffs in this case argued that about 500,000 bump stocks were in circulation when the ban went into effect.
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