GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL, ET AL. v. MICHAEL CARGILL
No. 22-976
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
June 14, 2024
Argued February 28, 2024
OCTOBER TERM, 2023
Syllabus
NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.
Syllabus
GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL, ET AL. v. CARGILL
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 22-976. Argued February 28, 2024—Decided June 14, 2024
The National Firearms Act of 1934 defines a “machinegun” as “any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.”
For many years, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) consistently took the position that semiautomatic rifles equipped with bump stocks were not machineguns under
Michael Cargill surrendered two bump stocks to ATF under protest, then filed suit to challenge the Rule under the Administrative Procedure Act. As relevant, Cargill alleged that ATF lacked statutory authority to promulgate the Rule because bump stocks are not “machinegun[s]” as defined in
Held: ATF exceeded its statutory authority by issuing a Rule that classifies a bump stock as a “machinegun” under
(a) A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a “machinegun” as defined by
(b) A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger.” The phrase “function of the trigger” refers to the mode of action by which the trigger activates the firing mechanism. No one disputes that a semiautomatic rifle without a bump stock is not a machinegun because a shooter must release and reset the trigger between every shot. And, any subsequent shot fired after the trigger has been released and reset is the result of a separate and distinct “function of the trigger.” Nothing changes when a semiautomatic rifle is equipped with a bump stock. Between every shot, the shooter must release pressure from the trigger and allow it to reset before reengaging the trigger for another shot. A bump stock merely reduces the amount of time that elapses between separate “functions” of the trigger.
ATF argues that a shooter using a bump stock must pull the trigger only one time to initiate a bump-firing sequence of multiple shots. This initial trigger pull sets off a sequence—fire, recoil, bump, fire—that allows the weapon to continue firing without additional physical manipulation of the trigger by the shooter. This argument rests on the mistaken premise that there is a difference between the shooter flexing his finger to pull the trigger and pushing the firearm forward to bump the trigger against his stationary trigger. Moreover, ATF‘s position is logically inconsistent because its reasoning would also mean that a semiautomatic rifle without a bump stock is capable of firing more than one shot by a “single function of the trigger.” Yet, ATF agrees that is not the case. ATF‘s argument is thus at odds with itself. Pp. 7–14.
(c) Even if a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock could fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger,” it would not do so “automatically.” Section 5845(b) specifies the precise action that must “automatically” cause a weapon to fire “more than one shot“—a “single function of the trigger.” If something more than a “single function of the trigger” is required to fire multiple shots, the weapon does not satisfy the statutory definition. Firing multiple shots using a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock requires more than a single function of the trigger. A
ATF counters that machineguns also require continuous manual input from a shooter: The shooter must both engage the trigger and keep it pressed down to continue shooting. ATF argues there is no meaningful difference between holding down the trigger of a traditional machinegun and maintaining forward pressure on the front grip of a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock. This argument ignores that Congress defined a machinegun by what happens “automatically” “by a single function of the trigger.” Simply pressing and holding the trigger down on a fully automatic rifle is not manual input in addition to a trigger‘s function. By contrast, pushing forward on the front grip of a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not part of functioning the trigger.
Moreover, a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock is indistinguishable from the Ithaca Model 37 shotgun, a weapon the ATF concedes cannot fire multiple shots “automatically.” ATF responds that a shooter is less physically involved with operating a bump-stock equipped rifle than operating the Model 37. It explains that once a shooter pulls the rifle‘s trigger a single time, the bump stock harnesses the firearm‘s recoil energy in a continuous back-and-forth cycle that allows the shooter to attain continuous firing. But, even if one aspect of a weapon‘s operation could be seen as “automatic,” that would not mean the weapon “shoots . . . automatically more than one shot . . . by a single function of the trigger.”
(d) Abandoning the text, ATF attempts to shore up its position by relying on the presumption against ineffectiveness. That presumption weighs against interpretations of a statute that would “rende[r] the law in a great measure nugatory, and enable offenders to elude its provisions in the most easy manner.” The Emily, 9 Wheat. 381, 389. In ATF‘s view, Congress “restricted machineguns because they eliminate the manual movements that a shooter would otherwise need to make in order to fire continuously” at a high rate of fire, as bump stocks do. Brief for Petitioners 40. So, ATF reasons, concluding that bump stocks are lawful “simply because the [trigger] moves back and forth . . . would exalt artifice above reality and enable evasion of the federal machinegun ban.” Id., at 41–42. The presumption against ineffectiveness cannot do the work that ATF asks of it. Interpreting
57 F. 4th 447, affirmed.
THOMAS, J. delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and ALITO, GORSUCH, KAVANAUGH, and BARRETT, JJ., joined. ALITO, J., filed a concurring opinion. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which KAGAN and JACKSON, JJ., joined.
Opinion of the Court
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
No. 22–976
MERRICK B. GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. MICHAEL CARGILL
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
[June 14, 2024]
JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court.
Congress has long restricted access to “machinegun[s],” a category of firearms defined by the ability to “shoot, automatically more than one shot . . . by a single function of the trigger.”
I
A
Under the National Firearms Act of 1934, a “machinegun” is “any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.”
Shooters have devised techniques for firing semiautomatic firearms at rates approaching those of some machineguns. One technique is called bump firing. A shooter who bump fires a rifle uses the firearm‘s recoil to help rapidly manipulate the trigger. The shooter allows the recoil from one shot to push the whole firearm backward. As the rifle slides back and away from the shooter‘s stationary trigger finger, the trigger is released and reset for the next shot. Simultaneously, the shooter uses his nontrigger hand to maintain forward pressure on the rifle‘s front grip. The forward pressure counteracts the recoil and causes the firearm (and thus the trigger) to move forward and “bump” into the shooter‘s trigger finger. This bump reengages the trigger and causes another shot to fire, and so on.
Bump firing is a balancing act. The shooter must maintain enough forward pressure to ensure that he will bump the trigger with sufficient force to engage it. But, if the shooter applies too much forward pressure, the rifle will not slide back far enough to allow the trigger to reset. The right balance produces a reciprocating motion that permits the shooter to repeatedly engage and release the trigger in rapid succession.
B
The question in this case is whether a bump stock transforms a semiautomatic rifle into a “machinegun,” as defined by
ATF abruptly reversed course in response to a mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. In October 2017, a gunman fired on a crowd attending an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and wounding over 500 more. The gunman equipped his weapons with bump stocks, which allowed him to fire hundreds of rounds in a matter of minutes.
This tragedy created tremendous political pressure to outlaw bump stocks nationwide. Within days, Members of Congress proposed bills to ban bump stocks and other devices “designed . . . to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle.” S. 1916, 115th Cong., 1st Sess., §2 (2017); see also H. R. 3947, 115th Cong., 1st Sess. (2017); H. R. 3999, 115th Cong., 1st Sess. (2017). None of these bills became law. Similar proposals in the intervening years have also stalled. See, e.g., H. R. 396, 118th Cong., 1st Sess. (2023); S. 1909, 118th Cong., 1st Sess. (2023); H. R. 5427, 117th Cong., 1st Sess. (2021).
While the first wave of bills was pending, ATF began considering whether to reinterpret
ATF issued its final Rule in 2018. 83 Fed. Reg. 66514. The agency‘s earlier regulations simply restated
“[T]he term ‘automatically’ as it modifies ‘shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot,’ means functioning as the result of a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism that allows the firing of multiple rounds through a single function of the trigger; and ‘single function of the trigger’ means a single pull of the trigger and analogous motions. The term ‘machinegun’ includes a bump-stock-type device, i.e., a device that allows a semi-automatic firearm to shoot more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger by harnessing the recoil energy of the semi-automatic firearm to which it is affixed so that the trigger resets and continues firing without additional physical manipulation of the trigger by the shooter.” Id., at 66553–66554.
The final Rule also repudiated ATF‘s previous guidance that bump stocks did not qualify as “machineguns” under
C
Michael Cargill surrendered two bump stocks to ATF under protest. He then filed suit to challenge the final Rule, asserting a claim under the Administrative Procedure Act. As relevant, Cargill alleged that ATF lacked statutory authority to promulgate the final Rule because bump stocks are not “machinegun[s]” as defined in
The Court of Appeals initially affirmed, 20 F. 4th 1004 (CA5 2021), but later reversed after rehearing en banc, 57 F. 4th 447 (CA5 2023). A majority agreed, at a minimum, that
We granted certiorari, 601 U. S. ___ (2023), to address a split among the Courts of Appeals regarding whether bump stocks meet
Section 5845(b) defines a “machinegun” as any weapon capable of firing “automatically more than one shot . . . by a single function of the trigger.” We hold that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a “machinegun” because it cannot fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger.” And, even if it could, it would not do so “automatically.” ATF therefore exceeded its statutory authority by issuing a Rule that classifies bump stocks as machineguns.
A
A semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger.” With or without a bump stock, a shooter must release and reset the trigger between every shot. And, any subsequent shot fired after the trigger has been released and reset is the result of a separate and distinct “function of the trigger.” All that a bump stock does is accelerate the rate of fire by causing these distinct “function[s]” of the trigger to occur in rapid succession.
As always, we start with the statutory text, which refers to “a single function of the trigger.” The “function” of an object is “the mode of action by which it fulfils its purpose.” 4 Oxford English Dictionary 602 (1933); see also American Heritage Dictionary 533 (1969) (“The natural or proper action for which a mechanism . . . is fitted or employed“). And, a “trigger” is an apparatus, such as a “movable catch or lever,” that “sets some force or mechanism in action.” 11 Oxford English Dictionary, at 357; see also American Heritage Dictionary, at 1371 (“The lever pressed by the finger to discharge a firearm” or “[a]ny similar device used to release or activate a mechanism“); Webster‘s New International Dictionary 2711 (2d ed. 1934) (“A piece, as a lever, connected with a catch or detent as a means of releasing it; specif., Firearms, the part of a lock moved by the finger to release the cock in firing“). The phrase “function of the trigger” thus refers to the mode of action by which the trigger activates the firing mechanism. For most firearms, including the ones at issue here, the trigger is a curved metal lever. On weapons with these standard trigger mechanisms, the phrase “function of the trigger” means the physical trigger movement required to shoot the firearm.
No one disputes that a semiautomatic rifle without a bump stock is not a machinegun because it fires only one shot per “function of the trigger.” That is, engaging the trig-ger a single time will cause the firing mechanism to discharge only one shot. To understand why, it is helpful to consider the mechanics of the firing cycle for a semiautomatic rifle. Because the statutory definition is keyed to a “function of the trigger,” only the trigger assembly is relevant for our purposes. Although trigger assemblies for semiautomatic rifles vary, the basic mechanics are generally the same. The following series of illustrations depicts how the trigger assembly on an AR–15 style semiautomatic rifle works.3 In each illustration, the front of the rifle (i.e., the barrel) would be pointing to the left.
We begin with an overview of the relevant components:
Figure 1.
The trigger is
original position after a shot is fired. Ibid.
We turn next to how these components operate:
Figure 2.
When the shooter engages the trigger by moving it backward (as indicated by the arrow), the square point of the trigger pivots downward and out of the notch securing the hammer. Ibid. This movement releases the spring-loaded hammer, allowing it to swing forward. Ibid.
Figure 3.
At the top of the hammer‘s rotation, it strikes the firing pin, causing the weapon to fire a single shot. See ibid.
Figure 4.
The firearm then ejects the spent cartridge from the chamber and loads a new one in its place. D. Long, The Complete AR–15/M16 Sourcebook 206 (2001). The mechanism that performs this task swings the hammer backward at the same time. Ibid.
Figure 5.
As
Figure 6.
Finally, when the shooter takes pressure off the trigger and allows it to move forward (as indicated by the arrow), the hammer slips off the disconnector just as the square point of the trigger rises into the notch on the hammer (circled above). Ibid. The trigger mechanism is thereby reset to the original position shown in Figure 1. A semiautomatic rifle must complete this cycle for each shot fired.5
ATF does not dispute that this complete process is what constitutes a “single function of the trigger.” A shooter may fire the weapon again after the trigger has reset, but only
by engaging the trigger a second time and thereby initiating a new firing cycle. For each shot, the shooter must engage the trigger and then release the trigger to allow it to reset. Any additional shot fired after one cycle is the result of a separate and distinct “function of the trigger.”
Nothing changes when a semiautomatic rifle is equipped with a bump stock. The firing cycle remains the same. Between every shot, the shooter must release pressure from the trigger and allow it to reset before reengaging the trigger for another shot. A bump stock merely reduces the amount of time that elapses between separate “functions” of the trigger. The bump stock makes it easier for the shooter to move the firearm back toward his shoulder and thereby release pressure from the trigger and reset it. And, it helps the shooter press the trigger against his finger very quickly thereafter. A bump stock does not convert a semiautomatic rifle into
Although ATF agrees on a semiautomatic rifle‘s mechanics, it nevertheless insists that a bump stock allows a semiautomatic rifle to fire multiple shots “by a single function of the trigger.” ATF starts by interpreting the phrase “single function of the trigger” to mean “a single pull of the trigger and analogous motions.” 83 Fed. Reg. 66553. A shooter using a bump stock, it asserts, must pull the trigger only one time to initiate a bump-firing sequence of multiple shots. Id., at 66554. This initial trigger pull sets off a sequence—fire, recoil, bump, fire—that allows the weapon to continue firing “without additional physical manipulation of the trigger by the shooter.” Ibid. According to ATF, all the shooter must do is keep his trigger finger stationary on the bump stock‘s ledge and maintain constant forward pressure on the front grip to continue firing. The dissent offers similar reasoning. See post, at 7–9 (opinion of SOTOMAYOR, J.).
This argument rests on the mistaken premise that there is a difference between a shooter flexing his finger to pull the trigger and a shooter pushing the firearm forward to bump the trigger against his stationary finger. ATF and the dissent seek to call the shooter‘s initial trigger pull a “function of the trigger” while ignoring the subsequent “bumps” of the shooter‘s finger against the trigger before every additional shot. But,
In any event, ATF‘s argument cannot succeed on its own terms. The final Rule defines “function of the trigger” to include not only “a single pull of the trigger” but also any “analogous motions.” 83 Fed. Reg. 66553. ATF concedes that one such analogous motion that qualifies as a single function of the trigger is “sliding the rifle forward” to bump the trigger. Brief for Petitioners 22. But, if that is true, then every bump is a separate “function of the trigger,” and semiautomatic rifles equipped with bump stocks are therefore not machineguns. ATF resists the natural implication of its reasoning, insisting that the bumping motion is a “function of the trigger” only when it initiates, but not when it continues, a firing sequence. But, Congress did not write a statutory definition of “machinegun” keyed to when a firing sequence begins and ends. Section 5845(b) asks only whether a weapon fires more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger.”
Finally, the position that ATF and the dissent endorse is logically inconsistent. They reason that a semiautomatic rifle
We conclude that semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a “machinegun” because it does not fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger.”
B
A bump stock is not a “machinegun” for another reason: Even if a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock could fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger,” it would not do so “automatically.” Section 5845(b) asks whether a weapon “shoots . . . automatically more than one shot . . . by a single function of the trigger.” The statute thus specifies the precise action that must “automatically” cause a weapon to fire “more than one shot“—a “single function of the trigger.” If something more than a “single function of the trigger” is required to fire multiple shots, the weapon does not satisfy the statutory definition. As Judge Henderson put it, the “statutory definition of ‘machinegun’ does not include a firearm that shoots more than one round ‘automatically’ by a single pull of the trigger AND THEN SOME.” Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, 920 F. 3d 1, 44 (CADC 2019) (opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part).
Firing multiple shots using a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock requires more than a single function of the trigger. A shooter must also actively maintain just the right amount of forward pressure on the rifle‘s front grip with his nontrigger hand. See supra, at 2–3. Too much forward pressure and the rifle will not slide back far enough to release and reset the trigger, preventing the rifle from firing another shot. Too little pressure and the trigger will not bump the shooter‘s trigger finger with sufficient force to fire another shot. Without this ongoing manual input, a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock will not fire multiple shots. Thus, firing multiple shots requires engaging the trigger one time—and then some.7
ATF and the dissent counter that machineguns also require continuous manual input from a shooter: He must
both engage the trigger and keep it pressed down
Moreover, a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock is indistinguishable from another weapon that ATF concedes cannot fire multiple shots “automatically“: the Ithaca Model 37 shotgun. The Model 37 allows the user to “slam fire“—that is, fire multiple shots by holding down the trigger while operating the shotgun‘s pump action. Each pump ejects the spent cartridge and loads a new one into the chamber. If the shooter is holding down the trigger, the new cartridge will fire as soon as it is loaded. According to ATF, the Model 37 fires more than one shot by a single function of the trigger, but it does not do so “automatically” because the shooter must manually operate the pump action with his nontrigger hand. See 83 Fed. Reg. 66534. That logic mandates the same result here. Maintaining the proper amount of forward pressure on the front grip of a bump-stock equipped rifle is no less additional input than is operating the shotgun‘s pump action. In both cases, the shooter must take an additional manual action beyond the single function of the trigger to fire multiple shots.
Finally, we decline to adopt ATF‘s “clarification” that “automatically” means “functioning as the result of a self-acting or self-regulating mechanism.” 83 Fed. Reg. 66553. Even if we did, it would not change the result. For a bump-stock-equipped rifle, there is no “self-acting or self-regulating mechanism” that allows it to fire multiple shots. It requires a manual input—forward pressure—that is not part of the rifle‘s trigger function or internal firing mechanism.
We conclude that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a “machinegun” because it does not fire more than one shot “automatically.”
C
The dissent seeks to avoid the statutory text by focusing on the “ordinary meaning” of the word “machinegun.” Post, at 2. In the dissent‘s view, a “machinegun” is simply any weapon that can “fire rapidly.” Post, at 4. And, it is “undisputed” that bump-stock-equipped rifles allow shooters to fire very rapidly. Ibid. This argument is flawed for two reasons.
First, it is far from clear that the “ordinary meaning” of machinegun includes bump-stock-equipped rifles. Semiautomatic rifles have been around for over a century, and shooters have always been able to fire them rapidly. Some can fire faster than others, and some are more skilled at bump firing than others. But, the term “machinegun” has always had a more specific meaning than just a fast-firing weapon. It has always referred to weapons that fire multiple shots by a single trigger pull. Bump-stock-equipped rifles do not do that.
Second, even if the “ordinary meaning” of machinegun were as broad as the dissent claims, it would not matter. When a statute includes a specific definition of a term, that definition “is the only one that matters.” Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U. S. 914, 942 (2000). Congress provided a specific definition of “machinegun” in
D
Abandoning the text, ATF attempts to shore up its position by relying on the presumption against ineffectiveness. That presumption weighs against interpretations of a statute that would “rende[r] the law in a great measure nugatory, and enable offenders to elude its provisions in the most easy manner.” The Emily, 9 Wheat., at 389. In ATF‘s view, Congress “restricted machineguns because they eliminate the manual movements that a shooter would otherwise need to make in order to fire continuously” at a high rate of fire, as bump stocks do. Brief for Petitioners 40. So, ATF reasons, concluding that bump stocks are lawful “simply because the [trigger] moves back and forth . . . would exalt artifice above reality and enable evasion of the federal machinegun ban.” Id., at 41–42.
The presumption against ineffectiveness cannot do the work that ATF asks of it. The presumption is an aid to construction, not a license to rewrite the law. It “cannot be used to override the clear text of a statute.” National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 567 U. S. 519, 544 (2012). As we have explained, the text of
Moreover, interpreting
We conclude that ATF exceeded its statutory authority by issuing a Rule that classifies a bump stock as a “machinegun” under
The judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
CLARENCE THOMAS
ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
the pump action on the Model 37.8
ATF responds that a shooter is less physically involved with operating a bump-stock equipped rifle than operating the Model 37‘s pump action. Once the shooter pulls the rifle‘s trigger a single time, the bump stock “harnesses the firearm‘s recoil energy in a continuous back-and-forth cycle that allows the shooter to attain continuous firing.” Id., at 66519. But, even if one aspect of a weapon‘s operation could be seen as “automatic,” that would not mean the weapon “shoots...automatically more than one shot . . . by a single function of the trigger.”
Thus, even if a semiautomatic rifle could fire more than one shot by a single function of the trigger, it would not do so “automatically.”
C
Abandoning the text, ATF and the dissent attempt to shore up their position by relying on the presumption against ineffectiveness. That presumption weighs against interpretations of a statute that would “rende[r] the law in a great measure nugatory, and enable offenders to elude its provisions in the most easy manner.” The Emily, 9 Wheat. 381, 389 (1824). It is a modest corollary to the commonsense proposition “that Congress presumably does not enact useless laws.” United States v. Castleman, 572 U. S. 157, 178 (2014) (Scalia, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment).
In ATF‘s view, Congress “restricted machineguns because they eliminate the manual movements that a shooter would otherwise need to make in order to fire continuously” at a high rate of fire, as bump stocks do. Brief for Petitioners 40. So, ATF reasons, concluding that bump stocks are lawful “simply because the [trigger] moves back and forth would exalt artifice above reality and enable evasion of the federal machinegun ban.” Id., at 41-42 (internal quotation marks omitted). The dissent endorses a similar view. See post, at 14-17.
The presumption against ineffectiveness cannot do the work that ATF and the dissent ask of it. A law is not useless merely because it draws a line more narrowly than one of its conceivable statutory purposes might suggest. Interpreting
The dissent‘s additional argument for applying the presumption against ineffectiveness fails on its own terms. To argue that our interpretation makes
III
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals.
It is so ordered.
JUSTICE ALITO, concurring.
I join the opinion of the Court because there is simply no other way to read the statutory language. There can be little doubt that the Congress that enacted
The horrible shooting spree in Las Vegas in 2017 did not change the statutory text or its meaning. That event demonstrated that a semiautomatic rifle with a bump stock can have the same lethal effect as a machinegun, and it thus strengthened the case for amending
There is a simple remedy for the disparate treatment of bump stocks and machineguns. Congress can amend the law—and perhaps would have done so already if ATF had stuck with its earlier interpretation. Now that the situation is clear, Congress can act.
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE KAGAN and JUSTICE JACKSON join, dissenting.
On October 1, 2017, a shooter opened fire from a hotel room overlooking an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, Nevada, in what would become the deadliest mass shooting in U. S. history. Within a matter of minutes, using several hundred rounds of ammunition, the shooter killed 58 people and wounded over 500. He did so by affixing bump stocks to commonly available, semiautomatic rifles. These simple devices harness a rifle‘s recoil energy to slide the rifle back and forth and repeatedly “bump” the shooter‘s stationary trigger finger, creating rapid fire. All the shooter had to do was pull the trigger and press the gun forward. The bump stock did the rest.
Congress has sharply restricted civilian ownership of machineguns since 1934. Federal law defines a “machinegun” as a weapon that can shoot “automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.”
Today, the Court puts bump stocks back in civilian hands. To do so, it casts aside Congress‘s definition of “machinegun” and seizes upon one that is inconsistent with the ordinary meaning of the statutory text and unsupported by context or purpose. When I see a bird that walks like a duck,
I
A
Machineguns were originally developed in the 19th century as weapons of war. See J. Ellis, The Social History of the Machine Gun 21-45 (1986) (Ellis). Smaller and lighter submachine guns were not commercially available until the 1920s. See Brief for Patrick J. Charles as Amicus Curiae 5 (Charles Brief). Although these weapons were originally marketed to law enforcement, they inevitably made it into the hands of gangsters. See id., at 8-9; Ellis 149-165. Gangsters like Al Capone used machineguns to rob banks, ambush the police, and murder rivals. See Ellis 153-154, 157-158. Newspaper headlines across the country flashed ““Gangsters Use Machine Guns,” ““Machine Gun Used in Bank Hold-Up,” and ““Machine Gun Thugs Kill Postal Employee.” Charles Brief 9.
Congress responded in 1934 by sharply restricting civilian ownership of machineguns. See
These early machineguns allowed a shooter to fire in a variety of ways. Some would fire continuously with a single pull of the trigger or push of a button. See Charles Brief 7, and n. 12 (noting that a Browning M1918 rifle fired eight rounds “in a second with one pull of the trigger“); see also Brief for Petitioners 22 (noting that a Browning M2 fired with a push of the thumb). Others, such as the famous Thompson Submachine Gun Caliber .45, or “Tommy Gun,” would fire continuously only so long as the shooter maintained backward pressure on the trigger; a shooter could still fire single shots by pulling and releasing the trigger each time. See Test of Thompson Submachine Gun, 69 Army and Navy Register 355 (Apr. 9, 1921) (noting that the shooter of a Tommy Gun “can fire the contents of the magazine with a single prolonged pull or fire a single shot by merely releasing the trigger“). The internal mechanisms of automatic-fire weapons also varied enormously, with many (such as the Tommy Gun) relying principally on the recoil energy produced by each bullet‘s discharge to effectuate automatic fire. See, e.g., War Dept., Basic Field Manual: Thompson Submachine Gun, Caliber .45, M1928A1, p. 1 (1941) (“The Thompson submachine gun is an air-cooled, recoil-operated, magazine-fed weapon“); W. Smith, Small Arms of the World: The Basic Manual of Military Small Arms 165 (1955) (describing Tommy guns as “recoil operated weapons on the elementary blowback principle“).
To account for these differences, Congress adopted a definition of “machinegun” that captured “any weapon which shoots, or is designed to shoot, automatically . . . more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.”
B
The archetypal modern “machinegun” is the military‘s standard-issue M16 assault rifle. With an M16 in automatic mode, the shooter pulls the trigger once to achieve a fire rate of 700 to 950 rounds per minute. See Dept. of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Small Arms, https://www.dla.mil/Disposition-Services/Offers/Law-Enforcement/Weapons/. An internal mechanism automates the M16‘s continuous fire, so that all the shooter has to do is keep backward pressure on the trigger. See Brief for Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence et al. as Amici Curiae 9-11 (Giffords Brief) (discussing internal firing mechanism of M16). If the shooter stops putting pressure on the trigger, the gun stops firing.
Semiautomatic weapons are not “machineguns” under the statute. Take, for instance, an AR-15-style semiautomatic assault rifle. To rapidly fire an AR-15, a shooter must rapidly pull the trigger himself. It is “semi” automatic because, although the rifle automatically loads a new cartridge into the chamber after it is fired, it fires only one shot each time the shooter pulls the trigger. See
To fire an M16 or AR-15 rifle, a person typically holds the “grip” next to the trigger with his firing hand. He stabilizes the weapon with his other hand on its barrel or “front grip.” He then raises the weapon so that the butt, or “stock,” of the gun rests against his shoulder, lines up the sights to look down the gun, and squeezes the trigger. See Dept. of the Army, Field Manual 23-9, Rifle Marksmanship M16A1, M16A2/3, M16A4, and M4 Carbine, Ch. 4, Section III, p. 4-22 (Sept. 13, 2006) (M16 Field Manual). A regular person with an AR-15 can achieve a fire rate of around 60 rounds per minute, with one pull of the trigger per second. Tr. of Oral Arg. 39. A professional sport shooter can use the AR-15 to fire at a rate of up to 180 rounds per minute, pulling the trigger three times per second. Giffords Brief 14.
A shooter can also manually “bump” an AR-15 to increase the rate of fire by using a belt loop or rubber band to hold his trigger finger in place and harness the recoil from the first shot to fire the rifle continuously. See 83 Fed. Reg. 66532-66533 (2018). To use a belt loop, he must hold the rifle low against his hip, put his finger in the trigger guard, and then loop his finger through a belt loop on his pants to lock the finger in place. See id., at 66533. With his other hand, he then pushes the rifle forward until his stationary finger engages the trigger to fire the first shot. See ibid. The recoil from that shot pushes the rifle violently backward. See ibid. If the shooter keeps pressing the rifle forward against the finger in his belt loop, the repeated backward jump of the recoil combined with his forward pressure allows the rifle to fire continuously. See ibid. A shooter using this method, however, cannot shoot very precisely. He has neither the advantage of the sights to line up his shot, nor his shoulder to stabilize the recoil. A shooter can also use a rubber band or zip tie to tie a finger close to the trigger. See id., at 66532. If the shooter is strong and skilled enough physically to control the
A bump stock automates and stabilizes the bump firing process. It replaces a rifle‘s standard stock, which is the part held against the shoulder. See id., at 66516. A bump stock, unlike a standard stock, allows the rifle‘s upper assembly to slide back and forth in the stock. See ibid. It also typically includes a finger rest on which the shooter can place his finger while shooting, and a “receiver module” that guides and regulates the weapon‘s recoil. Ibid. To fire a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock, the shooter either pulls the trigger, see ibid., or slides the gun forward in the bump stock, which presses the trigger into his trigger finger, Cargill v. Barr, 502 F. Supp. 3d 1163, 1175 (WD Tex. 2020). As long as the shooter keeps his trigger finger on the finger rest and maintains constant forward pressure on the rifle‘s barrel or front grip, the weapon will fire continuously. See 83 Fed. Reg. 66516. A rifle equipped with a bump stock can fire at a rate between 400 and 800 rounds per minute. Tr. of Oral Arg. 40.
II
A machinegun does not fire itself. The important question under the statute is how a person can fire it. A weapon is a “machinegun” when a shooter can (1) “by a single function of the trigger,” (2) shoot “automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading.”
This is not a hard case. All of the textual evidence points to the same interpretation. A bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle is a machinegun because (1) with a single pull of the trigger, a shooter can (2) fire continuous shots without any human input beyond maintaining forward pressure. The majority looks to the internal mechanism that initiates fire, rather than the human act of the shooter‘s initial pull, to hold that a “single function of the trigger” means a reset of the trigger mechanism. Its interpretation requires six diagrams and an animation to decipher the meaning of the statutory text. See ante, at 8-11, and n. 5. Then, shifting focus from the internal mechanism of the gun to the perspective of the shooter, the majority holds that continuous forward pressure is too much human input for bump-stock-enabled continuous fire to be “automatic.” See ante, at 14-17.
The majority‘s reading flies in the face of this Court‘s standard tools of statutory interpretation. By casting aside the statute‘s ordinary meaning both at the time of its enactment and today, the majority eviscerates Congress‘s regulation of machineguns and enables gun users and manufacturers to circumvent federal law.
A
Start with the phrase “single function of the trigger.” All the tools of statutory interpretation, including dictionary definitions, evidence of contemporaneous usage, and this Court‘s prior interpretation, point to that phrase meaning the initiation of the firing sequence by an act of the shooter, whether via a pull, push, or switch of the firing mechanism. The majority nevertheless interprets “function of the trigger” as
Consider the relevant dictionary definitions. In 1934, when Congress passed the
Nothing about those definitions suggests that “function of the trigger” means the mechanism by which the trigger resets mechanically to fire a second shot. See ante, at 8-11 (explaining the interior mechanics of an AR-15 trigger mechanism), as opposed to the process that a pull of the trigger on a bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle sets in motion. The most important “function” of a “trigger” is what it enables a shooter to do; what “force or mechanism” it sets “in action.” 11 Oxford English Dictionary, at 357. A “single function of the trigger” more naturally means a single initiation of the firing sequence. Regardless of what is happening in the internal mechanics of a firearm, if a shooter must activate the trigger only a single time to initiate a firing sequence that will shoot “automatically more than one shot,” that firearm is a “machinegun.”
Evidence of contemporaneous usage overwhelmingly supports that interpretation. The term ““function of the trigger” was proposed by the president of the National Rifle Association (NRA) during a hearing on the
The majority cannot disregard these statements as evidence of legislative purpose.2 They are, along with contemporaneous
This Court itself has also previously read the definition of “machinegun” in this exact statute to refer to the action of the shooter rather than the firing mechanism. In Staples v. United States, 511 U. S. 600 (1994), the Court noted that “a weapon that fires repeatedly with a single pull of the trigger” is a machinegun, as opposed to “a weapon that fires only one shot with each pull of the trigger,” which is (at most) a semiautomatic firearm. Id., at 602, n. 1 (emphasis added). A “pull” of the trigger necessarily requires human input.
When a shooter initiates the firing sequence on a bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle, he does so with “a single function of the trigger” under that term‘s ordinary meaning. Just as the shooter of an M16 need only pull the trigger and maintain backward pressure (on the trigger), a shooter of a bump-stock-equipped AR-15 need only pull the trigger and maintain forward pressure (on the gun). Both shooters pull the trigger only once to fire multiple shots. The only difference is that for an M16, the shooter‘s backward pressure makes the rifle fire continuously because of an internal mechanism: The curved lever of the trigger does not move. In a bump-stock-equipped AR-15, the mechanism for continuous fire is external: The shooter‘s forward pressure moves the curved lever back and forth against his stationary trigger finger. Both rifles require only one initial action (that is, one “single function of the trigger“) from the shooter combined with continuous pressure to activate continuous fire.3
The majority resists this ordinary understanding of the term “function of the trigger” with two technical arguments.4
Second, the majority tries to cabin “single function of the trigger” to a single mechanism for activating continuous fire. See ante, at 14-15. A shooter can fire a bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle in two ways. First, he can choose to fire single shots via distinct pulls of the trigger without exerting any additional pressure. Second, he can fire continuously via maintaining constant forward pressure on the barrel or front grip. The majority holds that the forward pressure cannot constitute a “single function of the trigger” because a shooter can also fire single shots by pulling the trigger. That logic, however, would also exclude a Tommy Gun and an M16, the paradigmatic examples of regulated machineguns in 1934 and today. Both weapons can fire either automatically or semiautomatically. A shooter using a Tommy Gun in automatic mode could choose to fire single shots with distinct pulls of the trigger, or continuous shots by maintaining constant backward pressure on the trigger. See supra, at 3. An M16 user can toggle the weapon from semiautomatic mode, which allows only one shot per pull of the trigger, to automatic mode, which enables continuous fire. See M16 Field Manual, Section III, p. 4-8. In 1934 as now, there is no commonsense difference between a firearm where a shooter must hold down a trigger or flip a switch to initiate rapid fire and one where a shooter must push on the front grip or barrel to do the same.
The majority‘s logic simply does not overcome the overwhelming textual and contextual evidence that “single function of the trigger” means a single action by the shooter to initiate a firing sequence, including pulling a trigger and pushing forward on a bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle.
B
Next, consider what makes a machinegun “automatic.” A bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle is a “machinegun” because with a “single function of the trigger” it “shoot[s], automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading.”
Before automatic weapons, a person who wanted to fire multiple shots from a firearm had to do two things after pulling the trigger the first time: (1) he had to reload the gun; and (2) he had to pull the trigger again. A semiautomatic weapon like an AR-15 already automates the first process. The bump stock automates the second.5 In
When a shooter “bump” fires a semiautomatic weapon without a bump stock, he must control several things using his own strength and skill: (1) the backward recoil of each shot, including both the direction in which the rifle moves and how far it moves when recoiling; (2) the trigger finger, by maintaining a stationary position with a loose enough hold on the trigger that the rapidly moving gun will hit his finger each time; and (3) the forward motion of the rifle after it recoils backward. A bump stock automates those processes. The replacement stock controls the direction and distance of the recoil, and the finger rest obviates the need to maintain a stationary finger position. All a shooter must do is rest his finger and press forward on the front grip or barrel for the rifle to fire continuously.
The majority nevertheless concludes that a bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle requires too much human input to fire “automatic[ally]” because it requires the “proper amount of forward pressure on the front grip” to maintain continuous fire. Ante, at 16. “Automati[c],” however, does not mean zero human input. An M16 requires the shooter to exert the “proper amount of [backward] pressure on the” trigger to maintain continuous fire. Ibid. So, too, a machinegun that requires a user to hold down a button. Makers of automatic weapons may require continuous human input for safety purposes; an accidental trigger pull that activates rapid fire is less harmful if it does not require affirmative human action to stop. Requiring continuous pressure for continuous fire, however, does not prevent a firearm from “shoot[ing], automatically more than one shot.”
C
This Court has repeatedly avoided interpretations of a statute that would facilitate its ready “evasion” or “enable offenders to elude its provisions in the most easy manner.” The Emily, 9 Wheat. 381, 389-390 (1824); see also Abramski v. United States, 573 U. S. 169, 181-182, 185 (2014) (declining to read a gun statute in a way that would permit ready “evasion,” “defeat the point” of the law, or “easily bypass the scheme“). Justice Scalia called this interpretive principle the “presumption against ineffectiveness.” A. Scalia & B. Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts 63 (2012). The majority arrogates Congress‘s policymaking role to itself by allowing bump-stock users to circumvent Congress‘s ban on weapons that shoot rapidly via a single action of the shooter.
“The presumption against ineffectiveness ensures that a text‘s manifest purpose
Moreover, bump stocks are not the only devices that transform semiautomatic rifles into weapons capable of rapid fire with a single function of the trigger. Recognizing the creativity of gun owners and manufacturers, Congress wrote a statute “loaded with anticircumvention devices.” Tr. of Oral Arg. 68. The definition of “machinegun” captures “any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.”
Gun owners themselves also have built motorized devices that will repeatedly pull a semiautomatic firearm‘s curved lever to enable continuous fire. ATF has classified such devices as “machinegun[s]” since 1982. See Record 1077. In 2003, the Fifth Circuit held that such a contraption qualified as a “machinegun” under the statute. See United States v. Camp, 343 F. 3d 743, 745. An owner of a semiautomatic rifle had placed a fishing reel inside the weapon‘s trigger guard. Id., at 744. When he pulled a switch behind the original trigger, the switch supplied power to a motor connected to the fishing reel. Ibid. The motor caused the reel to rotate, and that rotation manipulated the curved lever, causing it to fire in rapid succession. Ibid. ATF in 2017 also classified as a “machinegun” a wearable glove that a shooter could activate to initiate a mechanized piston moving back and forth, repeatedly pulling and releasing a semiautomatic rifle‘s curved lever. See Record 1074-1076.7
systems. The majority creates a definition of the statute that bans only “traditional” machineguns, even though its definition renders Congress‘s clear intent readily evadable.
Every Member of the majority has previously emphasized that the best way to respect congressional intent is to adhere to the ordinary understanding of the terms Congress uses. See, e.g., Jam v. International Finance Corp., 586 U. S. 199, 209 (2019) (ROBERTS, C. J., for the Court) (“[T]he legislative purpose is expressed by the ordinary meaning of the words used“); Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U. S. 167, 175 (2009) (THOMAS, J., for the Court) (“Statutory construction must begin with the language employed by Congress and the assumption that the ordinary meaning of that language accurately expresses the legislative purpose“); Wall v. Kholi, 562 U. S. 545, 551 (2011) (ALITO, J., for the Court) (“We give the words of a statute their ordinary, contemporary, common meaning, absent an indication Congress intended them to bear some different import“); BP p.l.c. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 593 U. S. 230, 237 (2021) (GORSUCH, J., for the Court) (“When called on to interpret a statute, this Court generally seeks to discern and apply the ordinary meaning of its terms at the time of their adoption“); Sackett v. EPA, 598 U. S. 651, 723, 727 (2023) (KAVANAUGH, J., concurring in judgment) (reasoning that departing from “all indications of ordinary meaning” will “create regulatory uncertainty for the Federal Government . . . and regulated parties“); Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, 598 U. S. 69, 77, 83 (2023) (BARRETT, J., for the Court) (declining to “artificially narrow ordinary meaning” to “second-guess [Congress‘s] judgment“). Today, the majority forgets that principle and substitutes its own view of what constitutes a “machinegun” for Congress‘s.
*
Congress‘s definition of “machinegun” encompasses bump stocks just as naturally as M16s. Just like a person can shoot “automatically more than one shot” with an M16 through a “single function of the trigger” if he maintains continuous backward pressure on the trigger, he can do the same with a bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle if he maintains forward pressure on the gun.