Washington — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Sunday that he plans to bring up a vote this week on restoring a ban on bump stocks, devices that greatly increase the rate of fire of semi-automatic weapons, after the Supreme Court invalidated a federal rule that outlawed the device days ago.
Caling the Supreme Court a “MAGA court” and saying they have “gone off the edges of the far right yet again,” Schumer said Sunday at a news conference that he plans to bring up a vote on restoring the bump stock ban under unanimous consent, which could be blocked by opposition from just a single lawmaker.
Schumer called the ban “common sense,” saying the Senate can help restore the “public safety rule,” while urging Republicans to join him to “protect the American people.”
President Biden called on Congress to pass legislation to ban bump stocks after the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, vowing to sign a bill into law should it reach his desk.
“Today’s decision strikes down an important gun safety regulation,” the president said in a statement. “Americans should not have to live in fear of this mass devastation.”
In the 6-3 ruling, the high court found that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its authority when it issued the ban in 2018, following the 2017 mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas — which marked the deadliest in U.S. history. The decision came along ideological lines.
Schumer said in a statement after the ruling that “the only way to permanently close this loophole is through legislation,” noting that “Senate Democrats are ready to pass legislation to ban bump stocks but we will need votes from Senate Republicans.”
Emma Nicholson contributed reporting.