US Supreme Court Declines to Block Trump Administration's Ban on Bump Stocks

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Supreme Court on Thursday declined to issue a temporary injunction to block the Trump's administration's ban on bump stocks after a gun advocacy group challenged the measure’s legality, court documents revealed.

“The application for stay presented to Justice [Sonia] Sotomayor and by her referred to the Court is denied,” the Supreme Court said in its order.

Gun Owners of America, which brought the lawsuit before the court, said in a December 27 statement that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) new bump stock regulation clearly violates US federal law, as bump stocks do not qualify as machine guns under the federal statute.

In December 2018, the ATF issued a new rule that redefines bump stocks and similar devices as machine guns, which are illegal for most Americans to own. The ban on bump stocks went into effect on Tuesday.

READ MORE: US Senators Reintroduce Bill to Expand Background Checks on Gun Sales

Bump stocks allowed a lone gunman to convert ordinary rifles into weapons that fired hundreds of rounds each minute at a 2017 concert in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and wounding more than 500.

The Second Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the right of Americans to keep and bear arms.

READ MORE: US Gun Rights Watchdog Might Sue Over Decision to Ban Bump Stocks