WASHINGTON (February 22, 2024)—The Supreme Court will hear arguments in Garland v. Cargill next week. This case effectively will decide if it’s legal for civilians to own automatic weapons. SCOTUSblog reports, the prominent issue as ‘Whether a bump stock device is a “machinegun” as defined in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b) because it is designed and intended for use in converting a rifle into a machinegun, i.e., into a weapon that fires “automatically more than one shot ... by a single function of the trigger.”’
If you’re looking for more context on the matter, please consider Robert Cottrol, Harold Paul Green Research Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. Professor Cottrol is an expert on the 2nd amendment and is a co-author of To Trust the People with Arms: The Supreme Court and the Second Amendment. In addition to his writings, he is the editor of Gun Control and the Constitution: Sources and Explorations of the Second Amendment. Lastly, Cottrol is a legal historian who researches American and Comparative Law and Criminal Law.
To speak with Robert Cottrol, please contact Media Relations Specialist Shannon Mitchell at [email protected].
-GW-