WASHINGTON – After the deadliest shooting in modern American history at a concert in Las Vegas in 2017, the Trump Administration banned bump stocks, the weapon technology that allowed the shooter to target victims so quickly. The US Supreme Court ruled that ban unconstitutional Friday.
A similar gun safety measure in Washington is currently being Governor Jay Inslee (D) said that the regulation remains on the books despite Friday’s US Supreme Court ruling.
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling doesn’t change WA’s ban on bump stocks. WA has taken bold action to minimize the threat of mass shootings, affirming we don’t condone weapons with the sole purpose of killing as many people as possible, as quickly as possible,” Inslee said.
Inslee also said that Washington will continue to pursue firearm safety legislation despite an increasingly anti-regulation legal climate at the national Supreme Court.
“Washington’s Legislature and voters have made clear time and again that we will continue moving forward despite ideological forces trying to take us backward,” Inslee said.
The Las Vegas shooting killed 60 people and injured about 500 others.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito argued in his concurring opinion approving the reversal of the Trump Administration ban that the Las Vegas shooting did not change the relevant case law.
“The horrible shooting spree in Las Vegas in 2017 did not change the statutory text or its meaning,” Alito said.
Dissenting justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson condemned the decision and argued it will lead to more shooting deaths.
“Today’s decision…will have deadly consequences. The majority’s [ruling] hamstrings the Government’s efforts to keep machineguns from gunmen like the Las Vegas shooter,” the dissenting justices said.
