NCLA Wins Major Fifth Circuit en Banc Decision Tossing ATF’s Bump Stock Ban

NCLA Wins Major Fifth Circuit en Banc Decision Tossing ATF’s Bump Stock Ban

The full Fifth Circuit bench has ruled that a bump stock does not fall within the definition of “machinegun” as set forth in federal law. NCLA represents gun shop owner, Army veteran, and firearms instructor Michael Cargill in Michael Cargill v. Merrick B. Garland, et al.

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.

Mark and Vec discuss NCLA’s Fifth Circuit win.