Supreme Court Denies Bump Stock Case, Sends Massachusetts Gun Ban Back to Lower Court

Yesterday was the first day of the new session of the United States Supreme Court. The Court considered two gun-related cases on Monday. The court decided not to hear Aposhian v. Garland and GOA v. Garland, which challenged the Trump Administration’s reclassification and ban on bump stocks. The decision leaves the lower court rulings upholding the ban in place.  On Sunday, Aposhian talked about his case with Tom Gresham on Gun Talk Radio.  The conversation starts at the 5:28 mark.

Cam Edwards over on Bearingarms.com had this to say about the bump stock ruling:

To say this is a disappointing result would be putting it mildly, and there most certainly will be consequences to the justices’ refusal to hear either case. The Biden administration has already used the same executive authority that then-President Trump used to direct the ATF to craft its bump stock ban to target unfinished frames and receivers sold in DIY gun-making kits, and the Court’s inaction will only embolden anti-gun officials and the gun control lobby to further abuse the scope of executive branch authority to impose even more gun control laws that don’t have enough support to win congressional approval.

The Court also sent a Massachusetts misdemeanor handgun ban back to the lower court in light of this past June's Bruen case.  The Reload has the story:

This one comes out of Massachusetts and challenges a state law barring those convicted of certain misdemeanors, even non-violent ones, from ever buying guns again. In Morin v. Lyver, a First Circuit panel used a two-step test to find the state’s refusal to issue either gun carry or pistol purchase permits to people convicted of gun-related misdemeanors was consistent with the Second Amendment. On Monday, the Supreme Court granted an appeal of the decision, vacated the previous ruling, and sent it back down to be reheard under its new standard for gun cases.

“The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted,” the court said in its order list. “The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for further consideration in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen.”

The remanding signals a new area of Second Amendment litigation the Court wants to see developed under its new Bruen standard. The Court had already sent cases related to AR-15 bans, magazine limits, and open carry permitting back down to lower courts. Now it seems the Supreme Court also wants to explore lifetime gun bans, especially for non-violent minor offenses.