GOC Files Appeal in 5th Circuit to Overturn Bump Stock Ruling

On Friday, February 4, 2022, Gun Owners of California filed an appeal with the 5th Circuit to challenge the Court’s ruling that a federal agency has the authority to rewrite the law on “bump stocks.”

In 2019, the ATF revised federal statute and decided “bump stock” devices that attach to a rifle are actual machine guns, and therefore illegal to own.  This immediately thrust hundreds of thousands of lawful gun owners into being law breakers.

Matthew Cargill, a gun dealer from Texas brought a constitutional lawsuit that challenges the ATF’s effort to rewrite a federal statute. GOC, joined by Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation and other state-based 2nd Amendment groups have asked the court for an en banc hearing to overturn the 3-judge decision that ruled the ATF can alter the law.

Based upon federal statute, GOC believes that bump stocks do not qualify as machine guns and our appeal argues that the ATF – and any other such agency – does not have the authority to change the definition of words and terms defined by Congress.  The Constitution of the United States expressly dictates that it is Congress – and Congress alone – that has the authority to make law.

If the Department of Justice can arbitrarily modify the definition of a machine guns, they will also have the ability to alter other definitions in order to circumvent Congress and match their political policy objectives.

We need your help to carry this fight through the 5th Circuit and quite possibly, all the way to the Supreme Court.  JOIN GOC and help us in this critical court challenge!  

To contribute to GOC and our work in the courts, the elections and the legislature, click HERE.

To read GOC/GOA/GOF’s petition to the 5th Circuit, click HERE.