By: Robert Davis

Gun Owners of America (GOA) recently filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Michigan challenging the Trump Administration’s bump stock ban.

Also included in the lawsuit are acting Attorney General Mathew Whitaker, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), who initially outlawed the accessory.

Thetruthaboutguns.com reports GOA chose to file its lawsuit in Michigan because, “The Wolverine State is part of the Sixth Circuit which has a record of being very pro-gun, and generally more skeptical of illegal government regulatory actions than other circuits in the country. So now we have multi-front attacks on the Trump bump stock ban being fought by the GOA and the Firearms Policy Coalition.”

‘Not Machineguns Under Federal Law’
In mid-December, DOJ amended the regulations of the ATF clarifying that bump stocks should be considered “machineguns” because they allow “a shooter of a semiautomatic firearm to initiate a continuous firing cycle with a single pull of the trigger,” the Department’s press release stated.

“In a move which is almost certainly illegal, BATF ‘gives’ bump stock owners 90 days to destroy their $300 piece of property — or to bring it into a BATF office for relinquishment without any compensation whatsoever,” Michael Hammond, legislative director for GOA told Gunpowder Magazine.

“The Ninth Circuit has recently held that California’s retroactive ban on and seizure of magazines is an unconstitutional ‘taking’ under the regulatory ‘takings’ doctrine under … the Fifth Amendment. This almost certainly follows that precedent.”

GOA’s lawsuit challenges this designation by arguing, “ATF has acknowledged that such devices, which have ‘no automatically functioning mechanical parts or springs and perform no automatic mechanical function when installed,’ are not machineguns under federal law.”

The lawsuit has drawn ire from Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) who said in a press release, “Legislation is necessary to ensure a ban is implemented and regulations are not tied up in court.”

Sen. Feinstein just introduced legislation to formally ban bump stocks, along with many types of firearms and accessories.

“I think that goes to show that when there is compromise on the Second Amendment, the anti-gunners will never be satisfied,” Jordan Stein, Communications Director at GOA, told Gunpowder Magazine.

Robert Davis is a general assignment reporter for Gunpowder Magazine. Contact him at [email protected].