The full Fifth Circuit bench ruled today that a bump stock does not fall within the definition of “machinegun” as set forth in federal law. Thus, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) lacked the statutory authority to issue the Final Rule banning bump stocks.
Washington, DC (January 6, 2023) – The full Fifth Circuit bench ruled today that a bump stock does not fall within the definition of “machinegun” as set forth in federal law. Thus, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) lacked the statutory authority to issue the Final Rule banning bump stocks. The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, represents gun shop owner, Army veteran, and firearms instructor Michael Cargill in Michael Cargill v. Merrick B. Garland, et al. NCLA applauds this decision, which not only allows our client to keep his property, but also prevents ATF’s unlawful attempt to rewrite a criminal law.
The en banc court addressed which branch of government has the constitutional authority to change the criminal law if changes are warranted. NCLA argued that: (1) the Final Rule conflicts with the statutory definition of a machinegun and thus exceeds ATF’s authority; (2) ATF’s construction is not entitled to Chevron deference; (3) to the extent that the courts determine that the definition of machinegun is ambiguous with respect to bump stocks, they should apply the rule of lenity to determine that bump stocks are not machineguns; and (4) if the statute were interpreted as authorizing ATF’s declaration that bump stocks are prohibited machineguns, then the statute would be an unconstitutional delegation of Congress’s legislative powers.
The Fifth Circuit agreed with NCLA on every one of these points.
