WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear two cases on the federal regulatory ban of bump stocks, leaving in place the prohibition on the devices used in the Las Vegas Strip mass shooting.
The cases requesting Supreme Court review were brought by Gun Owners of America and a Utah gun enthusiast who bought a bump stock before the accessories were reclassified as machine guns by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive, a decision that made them illegal to own under the Gun Control Act.
The reclassification was the result of a review ordered by former President Donald Trump after the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas in which a gunman used weapons equipped with bump stocks to kill 60 people and injure hundreds more in just 10 minutes.
Appellate courts in Denver and Cincinnati also upheld the bans in split decisions, prompting groups to seek a Supreme Court review that justices rejected Monday.
In part because of the legal uncertainty, Nevada Democratic lawmakers led by U.S. Rep. Dina Titus have sought a legislative ban on bump stocks. Legislation by Titus passed this year in the House but was stripped from a Senate package of gun reforms due to Republican opposition over possible infringement of constitutional rights.
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