CeaseFirePA Condemns SCOTUS Reversal of Federal Bump Stock Ban, Demands Immediate Action in Harrisburg to Protect Pennsylvanians
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Garland v. Cargill that overturned the Federal ban on bump stocks – devices that convert semi-automatic rifles into machine guns capable of inflicting mass carnage, like that seen at America’s deadliest mass shooting at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas. The ruling makes bump stocks once again legal in Pennsylvania – one of the at least 34 states that has not banned the devices. It undermines one of Minority Leader Cutler’s reasons for dooming House Bill 335 on May 7th when he denied local District Attorneys the ability to prosecute individuals for owning bump stocks. During the floor debate, he noted it was already against federal law. Now Pennsylvanians do not even have federal protections.
Adam Garber, CeaseFirePA Education Fund’s Executive Director, issued the following statement in response:
“The hard truth is that our leaders in Pennsylvania betrayed us even before the U.S. Supreme Court’s gavel came down today. Just weeks ago, the PA House of Representatives narrowly failed to pass legislation that would have banned bump stocks at the state level and protected Pennsylvanians from the deadly impacts of this reckless ruling. At the time, opponents of the bill in Harrisburg claimed it was unnecessary due to the federal ban. And now, thanks to their dereliction of duty, these lethal devices designed to perpetrate atrocities are once again fully legal and accessible in Pennsylvania. We are calling on the General Assembly to immediately take life-saving action and advance legislation to ban bump stocks in Pennsylvania once and for all.”
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As the Commonwealth’s leading gun violence prevention organization, CeaseFirePA Education Fund organizes communities closest to the issue, holds those in power accountable, and maximizes the strengths of every member in its broad coalition.
