Senate Democrats are kicking off their lame-duck session with a hearing on bump stocks and “conversion devices”, with Sen. Dick Durbin and others on the Judiciary Committee wasting little time before accusing the Supreme Court of putting Americans at risk by throwing out the Trump administration’s ban on bump stocks in the Cargill case earlier this year. 

The Supreme Court got Garland v. Cargill wrong. A bump stock turns a rifle into a machine gun—plain and simple.

— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) November 13, 2024

It’s not that simple. If it were, the Court would have decided Cargill differently. Instead, a majority of justices concluded that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a “machinegun” as defined by federal law because it can’t fire more than one shot “by a single function of the trigger” and even if it could, it would not do so “automatically.” 

The Court concluded that ATF exceeded its statutory authority by issuing a rule that improperly classified bump stocks as “machineguns”, and therefore the rule must be struck down.  

Bump stocks aren’t the sole focus of today’s hearing however. Durbin and company also took aim at illegal switches and auto-sears that do convert semi-automatic firearms into fully-automatic machine guns, while conflating them with bump stocks. 

A shooter in Las Vegas killed 58, wounded 400+.
A shooter in Birmingham killed 4, wounded 17+.

The commonality? Both used machine gun conversion devices.

Congress must act to protect the American people. pic.twitter.com/eZe9rsg0VI

— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) November 13, 2024

One difference? While the bump stock-equipped rifles found in the Las Vegas shooter’s hotel room were legal, the auto-sear used in the Birmingham, Alabama shooting was already illegal to possess under federal law. So what further action do Democrats think Congress should take to address the illegal use of switches? 

Sen. DURBIN on the Supreme Court wrongly striking down a Trump-era gun safety regulation:

Congress should respond by passing legislation that bans bump stocks, but Senate Republicans have objected to it. pic.twitter.com/XRXvvtOFrP

— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) November 13, 2024

Last time I checked, Democrats were still in control of the Senate. Even if the BUMP Act wouldn’t meet the 60-vote threshold for passage, there’s nothing stopping Chuck Schumer from bringing that bill out of committee and onto the Senate floor for a vote. 

Again, though, while bump stocks may have been used in the Las Vegas shootings, they’re not commonly found at crime scenes or even suspected of being used in a lot of violent crimes. The use of switches and auto-sears is more common (though still the exception, and not the rule), but those items are already prohibited under federal law. So again, what exactly are Democrats suggesting be done? 

Crime expert: There are multiple paths to address gun violence. Hold the Glock switch ban… Address the use 3-D printers for conversion devices… Empower U.S. Attorneys… Invest in social programs. pic.twitter.com/8WlZxdkAKs

— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) November 13, 2024

Some of the recommendations from Professor Jens Ludwig are fairly reasonable; increased prosecution for those using illegally converted firearms in violent crimes and deterring those crimes from being committed through effective violence prevention programs. His suggestion about legislating the use of 3D printers, on the other hand, is more problematic, and could easily be abused by legislators and regulators. 

This is the only testimony anyone needs to hear from the Democrats’ farce of a hearing on gun control today:

✅Bump stocks are not machineguns
✅Bump fire is not illegal
✅Hammers are 5x deadlier than all rifles
✅Glock switches & auto sears are already heavily regulated… pic.twitter.com/GuhWl3lvXp

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) November 13, 2024

As of mid-day, the Democrats’ hearing hasn’t really touched on what seems to be the “solution” most favored by anti-gun activists: reclassifying Glocks (and perhaps other semi-automatic firearms) as machine guns under the National Firearms Act. The city of Chicago has sued Glock over the supposed ease of illegally converting their striker-fired pistols into full-auto machine guns, and is seeking an injunction banning the sale of Glocks to Chicago residents and throughout the state of Illinois. 

The Biden administration, meanwhile, put together a task force that’s supposed to issue recommendations on “emerging firearm threats” like conversion devices next month, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the committee endorse reclassification in its report. I don’t think that idea is going anywhere in the Trump administration, but we will probably see more Democrat-controlled cities and states adopt Chicago’s arguments in the coming months.