Democratic Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida praised former President Donald Trump for being “right” in imposing a federal ban on bump stocks, a measure the U.S. Supreme Court struck down on Friday.
Bump stocks, an accessory that gives semi-automatic firearms the ability to fire automatically at speeds comparable to machine guns, were banned in 2019 following devastating mass shootings at a music festival in Las Vegas and a high school in Parkland, Florida.
The Supreme Court overturned the ban on Friday, with the court’s conservative 6-3 majority concluding that the Trump administration had incorrectly used its regulatory power to reclassify bump stock-equipped weapons as illegal machine guns.
Moskowitz, who helped pass a Florida bump stock ban as a state lawmaker following the Parkland shooting, lauded Trump’s ban while arguing that the three conservative justices he appointed were “dangerously wrong” in voting to quash it.
“Former President Trump was right to ban bump stocks!” Moskowitz wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The Supreme Court Justices he appointed are radically and dangerously wrong today.”
“My bipartisan bill in Florida banned bump stocks following the shooting at my high school Marjory Stoneman Douglas,” he added. “This result will make everyone less safe including our law enforcement officers.”
Former President Trump was right to ban bump stocks! The Supreme Court Justices he appointed are radically and dangerously wrong today. My bipartisan bill in Florida banned bump stocks following the shooting at my high school Marjory Stoneman Douglas. This result will make… https://t.co/oQWrKv8itz
— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) June 14, 2024
While Trump had not publicly weighed in on the Supreme Court striking down his ban at the time of publication, his 2024 presidential campaign argued that the decision should be “respected” and touted Trump’s endorsement by the National Rifle Association (NRA).
“The Court has spoken and their decision should be respected,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign press secretary, said in a statement emailed to Newsweek on Friday. “President Trump has been and always will be a fierce defender of Americans’ Second Amendment rights and he is proud to be endorsed by the NRA.”
Leavitt went on to say that “the right to keep and bear arms has never been more critical,” before claiming that President Joe Biden wanted “to take that right away from law-abiding Americans.”
Biden denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down what he called “an important gun safety regulation,” while noting that the Las Vegas shooter was able to kill 60 people and injure hundreds more with the aid of a bump stock.
“Americans should not have to live in fear of this mass devastation,” Biden said in a statement. “We know thoughts and prayers are not enough. I call on Congress to ban bump stocks, pass an assault weapon ban, and take additional action to save lives—send me a bill and I will sign it immediately.”
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, also suggested that Congress should act while claiming that he had no choice but to rule against the ban because there was “simply no other way to read the statutory language.”
“The horrible shooting spree in Las Vegas in 2017 did not change the statutory text or its meaning,” Alito wrote in his concurring opinion. “An event that highlights the need to amend a law does not itself change the law’s meaning.”
“There is a simple remedy for the disparate treatment of bump stocks and machine guns,” he added. “Now that the situation is clear, Congress can act.”
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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