Washington — Senate Democrats on Tuesday will try to pass legislation that would restore a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, an accessory that enables semi-automatic weapons to shoot at a very rapid pace, after last week's Supreme Court decision striking down the ban. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday he'd bring up the legislation for a vote under unanimous consent, a procedure in which a measure passes so long as no lawmaker objects.
The Supreme Court's conservative justices found that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives overstepped its authority in prohibiting the devices, concluding that a semi-automatic rifle outfitted with a bump stock is not the same as a machine gun because the trigger still must be released and reengaged to fire each shot. Machine guns, which are banned under federal law, can fire continuously by a single pull of the trigger.