Sotomayor rips Thomas’s bump stocks ruling in scathing dissent read from bench

jeffw@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 183 points –
thehill.com
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“Today, the Court puts bump stocks back in civilian hands. To do so, it casts aside Congress’s definition of ‘machinegun’ and seizes upon one that is inconsistent with the ordinary meaning of the statutory text and unsupported by context or purpose.”

“We conclude that [a] semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock is not a ‘machinegun’ because it does not fire more than one shot ‘by a single function of the trigger"

“When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck,”

Ignoring reality in favor of weird essentialism to support your base, is like peak conservative. How dumb.

Originalism is the legal equivalent of people picking and choosing single sentences out of religious texts out of context.

The term makes sense if you understand it is referring to the how the interpretation of the Constitution is brand new ("original") for each judgement.

Ignoring reality in favor of weird essentialism

Ignoring reality because Thomas likes to live like a billionaire and Alito hates gays.

She's basically saying it's irrelevant that one trigger pull equals one bullet fired. That has nothing to do with "being a machine gun". That is just how semi auto guns work.

How would you outlaw this? You'd have to outlaw belt loops too because functionally they do the same thing.

Her argument is invalid. A goose walks like a duck and flaps like a duck and looks like a duck but it's not a fucking duck.

The idea that accessories like a pistol grip and stock choice and flash suppressor "make a gun into a machine gun" despite one bullet per trigger pull is simply not true and disingenuous.

Sotomayor should be ashamed. She's saying a dog is a duck if you glue on wings and webbed feet.

Its not one per trigger pull, since the action of the machine results in another round firing unless you move your finger off the trigger.

The bump stock itself facilitates moving your finger so the trigger can reset. Pedantic, sure, but that's literally why the bump stock was designed that way. High rate of fire while not technically being an assault weapon.

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If you cannot tell a goose apart from a duck you need to see an optometrist.

That has nothing to do with "being a machine gun". That is just how semi auto guns work.

This sort of "X is X no matter what changes, it is always X" essentialist thinking is why conservites are increasingly getting frustrated and loosing touch with the more complex reality the rest of the world occupies. This is the same line of thinking that keeps y'all upset about trans rights and understanding systemic racist.

You're arguing with an anti-gun audience that knows nothing about any of this. All they know is, "Guns bad!" (Wait till they find out about the shoestring conversion kit.)

Tell you what guys: Grab an AR-15 with a bump stock and I'll square off with mine, which is, well, stock. Good luck.

It was a poorly written ruling with poor reasoning. If y'all want to bitch, bitch at Congress to create a solid definition of "machine gun" that's a little newer than the 1930s. I'd be right behind it.

Or, we could forget the whole notion of "law" and "precedent", just go with "feels". (Which seems to be lemmy's take on anything more complex than jaywalking.)

You're arguing with an anti-gun audience that knows nothing about any of this. All they know is, "Guns bad!" (Wait till they find out about the shoestring conversion kit.)

Former infantry here.

Guns should only be used by trained professionals who know not to pull the trigger.

The AR-15 is a tool for people who can't aim well.

The only purpose for a bump-stock is to turn murder into mass-murder. It has no other purpose.

'Till' is a cash-drawer or a ploughing action.

Begin attacking my cred as per the trend.

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Anyone who's called an AR-15 an assault rifle in a thread about a school shooting knows about the pedantry of the gun lobby.

I'm amazed they didn't overthrow the law because it says "pull the trigger" instead of "squeeze the trigger."

Seriously there's no one more pedantic than gun enthusiasts.

"Ohohohoho 'clipazine' hahahaha 'assault clipazine' hehehehehe you don't know what the vocabulary is therefore your argument is invalid."

Later, discussing women's healthcare:

"We cannot give out feminine sanitary products in schools, that will encourage women to have their periods during school hours instead of learning."

Normally I'd say something like "nothing will change until conservatives suffer personally", but lots of kids have been shot and that didn't do it. So I don't know man.

[the sound of children screaming has been removed]

I honestly believe it was a mistake not releasing the footage with the screaming.

The fact that they were all standing around doing fuck all is bad, but you have to actively remember there are kids screaming. While mr punisher walpaper is pulling his phone out there are kids screaming. While they were all grouped together in the hall there are kids screaming.

Instead of having to actively place the sound you would have to actively ignore it like those shitbags in blue were. It would make their inaction all the more inexcusable. Release the edited footage so the news can play and so people who (understandably) can't stomach the sound can still watch it, but have the unedited footage to show how monsterously uncaring those subhumans were.

It's AGAINST the Constitution for them to block people from showing up at the Supreme Court or Justices homes with Guns that fire like Machine Guns! I'm not Advocating anything I'm pointing out the Death Cult that is the Republican Party who would literally put ONE Nice Vacation over their Own Lives.

Just to be clear, for anyone that wasn't paying attention, the bump stock ban occurred under the Trump administration. All the second amendment people that think Trump has your back need to wake up.