WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether a Trump era-ban on bump stocks, the gun attachments that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns, violates federal law.

The justices will hear arguments early next year over a regulation put in place by the Justice Department after a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017.

Federal appeals courts have come to different decisions about whether the regulation defining a bump stock as a machine gun comports with federal law.

The justices said they will review the Biden administration’s appeal of a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans that invalidated the ban.

The Supreme Court already is weighing a challenge to another federal law that seeks to keep guns away from people under domestic violence restraining orders, a case that stems from the landmark decision in 2022 in which the six-justice conservative majority expanded gun rights.

The new case is not about the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms,” but rather whether the Trump administration followed federal law in changing the bump stock regulation.

The ban on bump stocks took effect in 2019. It stemmed from the Las Vegas shooting in which the gunman, a 64-year-old retired postal service worker and high-stakes gambler, used assault-style rifles to fire more than 1,000 rounds in 11 minutes into a crowd of 22,000 music fans.

Most of the rifles were fitted with bump stock devices and high-capacity magazines. A total of 58 people were killed in the shooting, and two died later. Hundreds were injured.

The Trump administration’s ban on bump stocks was an about-face for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In 2010, under the Obama administration, the agency found that a bump stock should not be classified as a machine gun and therefore should not be banned under federal law.

Following the Las Vegas shooting, officials revisited that determination and found it incorrect.

Bump stocks harness the recoil energy of a semi-automatic firearm so that a trigger “resets and continues firing without additional physical manipulation of the trigger by the shooter,” according to the ATF.

A shooter must maintain constant forward pressure on the weapon with the non-shooting hand and constant pressure on the trigger with the trigger finger, according to court records.

The full U.S. 5th Circuit ruled 13-3 in January that Congress would have to change federal law to ban bump stocks.

“The definition of ‘machinegun’ as set forth in the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act does not apply to bump stocks,” Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote for the 5th Circuit.

But a panel of three judges on the federal appeals court in Washington looked at the same language and came to a different conclusion.

Judge Robert Wilkins wrote for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that “under the best interpretation of the statute, a bump stock is a self-regulating mechanism that allows a shooter to shoot more than one shot through a single pull of the trigger. As such, it is a machine gun under the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act.”

A decision is expected by early summer in Garland v. Cargill, 22-976.

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File # MV230920258

Details:

On Sunday, April 2, 2023, at 8:00 PM, deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Moreno Valley Station responded to an armed robbery at a business in the 25000 block of Sunnymead Boulevard, in the city of Moreno Valley. Upon arrival, deputies learned that the suspect entered the business, brandished a firearm, and demanded money before fleeing in a vehicle in an unknown direction with an additional suspect.

About 8:14 PM, deputies located the suspect vehicle in the 2000 block of Alessandro Boulevard, in the city of Riverside. Deputies located both suspects, along with a replica firearm and the stolen property. Christian Garibay (28 years old of Baldwin Park) and Rayanne Zertuche (29 years old of Hesperia) were positively identified as the suspects. They were both later booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center for Armed Robery and Conspiracy.

Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to call Deputy Vanderwielen at the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station by calling (951)486–6700.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A man who admitted to purchasing firearms that he knew would be going from the U.S. to a Mexican drug cartel has been arrested in Texas after the discovery that one of the weapons was linked to the deadly kidnapping of four Americans, according federal court records.

Roberto Lugardo Moreno made an initial appearance Monday at a federal court in Brownsville and was appointed a public defender, who did not immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment. His detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

The kidnapping occurred in Matamoros, Mexico, which is located just across the border from Brownsville.

According to a federal complaint filed Saturday, Moreno has been charged with conspiring to illegally export a firearm. The complaint said that he admitted to buying firearms for people he knew were going to provide them to a member of the Gulf Cartel in Mexico.

The serial number of a firearm he purchased in October 2019 matched that of a gun recovered by authorities that was linked to the March 3 kidnappings, according to the complaint. Moreno said he didn’t apply for a license to export the firearm from the U.S. to Mexico, and knew it would be illegally exported, the complaint said.

Moreno told authorities that he received $100 for the purchase of the guns.

Four friends who were traveling to Mexico so one member of the party could have cosmetic surgery were caught up in a drug cartel shootout in Matamoros. After a vehicle crashed into their van, men in tactical vests with assault rifles arrived in another vehicle and surrounded them.

Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown appeared to have been killed immediately and their bodies were loaded into a truck with the two survivors, Eric Williams and Latavia McGee. The bodies and the two living friends were found days later in a shack.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A second suspect arrested Tuesday in connection with the mass shooting that killed six people in Sacramento had posted a live Facebook video of himself brandishing a handgun hours before gunfire erupted, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

Smiley Martin, 27, who is the brother of the first suspect taken into custody, was arrested while hospitalized with bullet wounds from the shooting in California’s capital.

Martin was released from prison on probation in February after serving his term for punching a girlfriend, dragging her from her home by her hair and whipping her with a belt, prosecutors said.

Martin may have been released sooner, but a Parole Board rejected his bid for early release in May after prosecutors said the 2017 felony assault along with convictions for possessing an assault weapon and thefts posed “a significant, unreasonable risk of safety to the community.”

“Martin’s criminal conduct is violent and lengthy,” a Sacramento prosecutor wrote in a letter obtained by AP. “Martin has committed several felony violations and clearly has little regard for human life and the law.”

Authorities are trying to determine whether the weapon seen in the video was used in the shooting, said the official, who was briefed on the investigation but was not authorized to publicly discuss details and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Investigators believe the brothers possessed stolen guns. They are reviewing financial documents, call records and social media messages to determine how and when they procured weapons, the official said. Authorities have searched several locations in connection with the shooting and the firearms investigation.

More than 100 shots were fired in rapid-fire succession early Sunday near the state Capitol, creating a chaotic scene with hundreds of panicked people trying desperately to reach safety. Twelve people were wounded by gunfire, including the Martin brothers.

Dandrae Martin, 26, was arrested Monday as a “related suspect” on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun. He was not seriously wounded and made a brief appearance Tuesday in Sacramento Superior Court wearing orange jail scrubs.

Smiley Martin will be booked for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun when his condition improves enough for him to be jailed, a police statement said.

Police were trying to determine if a stolen handgun found at the crime scene that had been converted to a weapon capable of automatic gunfire was used in the massacre.

Smiley Martin was taken to the hospital from the crime scene, police said.

“Martin was quickly identified as a person of interest and has remained under the supervision of an officer at the hospital while his treatment continues,” the statement said.

Detectives and SWAT team members also found a handgun during searches of three area homes.

The shooting happened at about 2 a.m. Sunday as bars were closing and patrons filled the streets. The three women and three men killed included a father of four, a young woman who wanted to be a social worker, a man described as the life of the party, and a homeless woman.

The Sacramento County coroner identified the women killed as Johntaya Alexander, 21; Melinda Davis, 57; and Yamile Martinez-Andrade, 21. The three men were Sergio Harris, 38; Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi, 32; and De’vazia Turner, 29.

Police were investigating whether the shooting was connected with a street fight that broke out just before gunfire erupted. Several people could be seen fighting in videos on a street lined with an upscale hotel, nightclubs and bars when gunshots sent people scattering.

Officers were reviewing more than 100 videos and photos sent by witnesses for possible use as evidence, police said.

A 31-year-old man who was seen carrying a handgun immediately after the shooting was arrested Tuesday on a weapons charge, though police said his gun was not believed to be used in the crime.

District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert noted Monday that Dandrae Martin was not arrested on suspicion of homicide but said more arrests were expected.

Dandrae Martin, who was held without bail, was freed from an Arizona prison in 2020 after serving just over 1 1/2 years for violating probation in separate cases involving a felony conviction for aggravated assault in 2016 and a conviction on a marijuana charge in 2018. Court records show he pleaded guilty to punching, kicking and choking a woman in a hotel room when she refused to work for him as a prostitute.

Defense lawyer Linda Parisi said she doesn’t know enough about the case yet and whether she will seek Dandrae Martin’s release will depend on whether prosecutors bring stiffer charges.

“If it turns out that the evidence demonstrates that this was mere presence at a scene that certainly argues more for a release,” Parisi said. “If it shows some more aggressive conduct then it would argue against it. But we don’t know that yet.”

It wasn’t clear if Smiley Martin had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Four of those wounded suffered critical injuries, the Sacramento Fire Department has said. At least seven of the victims had been released from hospitals by Monday.

At the scene where the chaos erupted, memorials with candles and flowers grew on the same sidewalks where people had run in terror as others lay on the ground writhing in pain.

Politicians decried the shooting, and some Democrats, including President Joe Biden, called for tougher action against gun violence.

California has some of the nation’s toughest restrictions on firearms, requiring background checks to buy guns and ammunition, limiting magazines to 10 bullets, and banning firearms that fall into its definition of assault weapons.

But state lawmakers plan to go further. A bill received its first hearing Tuesday would allow citizens to sue those who possess illegal weapons, a measure patterned after a controversial Texas bill aimed at abortions.

Other proposed California legislation this year would make it easier for people to sue gun companies and target unregistered “ghost guns,” firearms made from build-it-yourself kits.

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In San Jacinto, On October 5, there was a deadly shooting in a Motel, then on October 8 a father and son shooting during a family disturbance and on October 9 a clerk in a smoke shop was gunned down, and only two more weeks before the month is out. How many more gun related tragedies must we endure in October?

Single or multiple shootings have become commonplace in our American society that we no longer feel outrage, instead we placidly go about our business as these events ricochet within our brain before they spill onto the floor, to be swept away and forgotten.

Must we resign ourselves to this phenomenon that seems exclusive of the United States of America? Some will argue that mass killings take place all over the world, yes agreed, but under an entirely different set of circumstances. In war torn countries people die as a result of shooting between opposing factions; in dictatorships, people are shot when they speak out against their oppressors; and in countries where organized crime has taken over, people get shot when they get in the way of battles between gangs and the police. Killing of innocent bystanders in any event is equally reprehensible.

Nowhere but in America however, does an assassin willfully and consciously pick up a gun, of which he probably has an extensive collection to go out and shoot human beings at random. Why do we not really care?

Is it possible that possessing a gun is more important than the lives lost of our sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers? Is our sense of security really enhanced by having in our possession a fire-arm that in many cases for reasons of safety is probably unloaded and under lock and key? Are the marketing and public relations departments of weapons manufacturers, as well as the congressional gun lobby more powerful than the average voting citizen who is unstoppable when united in a common front? Can we organize like the people who are fighting against the seemingly constant increase in the cost of medications?

Something is for sure. For the safety of our children who have no “dog in the fight”, who depend on the grown-ups to protect them from all kinds of danger, we need to come to the realization that reducing the number of guns in this country, is imperative to our survival.

The motives behind the murders expressed in the first paragraph of this article should not be disconnected from the greater issue which is the ease with which a lethal weapon can be acquired in America. Had there been greater legal control over the purchase of firearms, these events would probably not have occurred.

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