Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/23pdf/22-976_e29g.pdf
Page Number: 1

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2023 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL, ET AL. v. CARGILL 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE FIFTH CIRCUIT 

No. 22–976.  Argued February 28, 2024—Decided June 14, 2024 

The  National  Firearms  Act  of  1934  defines  a  “machinegun”  as  “any 
weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored 
to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, 
by a single function of the trigger.”  26 U. S. C. §5845(b).  With a ma-
chinegun, a shooter can fire multiple times, or even continuously, by 
engaging  the  trigger  only  once.    This  capability  distinguishes  a  ma-
chinegun from a semiautomatic firearm.  With a semiautomatic fire-
arm, the shooter can fire only one time by engaging the trigger.  Using 
a technique called bump firing, shooters can fire semiautomatic fire-
arms at rates approaching those of some machineguns.  A shooter who 
bump fires a rifle uses the firearm’s recoil to help rapidly manipulate 
the  trigger.    Although  bump  firing  does  not  require  any  additional 
equipment, a “bump stock” is an accessory designed to make the tech-
nique easier.  A bump stock does not alter the basic mechanics of bump 
firing, and the trigger still must be released and reengaged to fire each 
additional shot.   
   For many years, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Ex-
plosives (ATF) consistently took the position that semiautomatic rifles 
equipped  with  bump  stocks  were  not  machineguns  under  §5845(b).  
ATF  abruptly  changed  course  when  a  gunman  using  semiautomatic 
rifles equipped with bump stocks fired hundreds of rounds into a crowd 
in Las Vegas, Nevada, killing 58 people and wounding over 500 more.  
ATF subsequently proposed a rule that would repudiate its previous 
guidance and amend its regulations to “clarify” that bump stocks are 
machineguns.    83  Fed.  Reg.  13442.    ATF’s  Rule  ordered  owners  of 
bump stocks either to destroy or surrender them to ATF to avoid crim-
inal prosecution. 
   Michael Cargill surrendered two bump stocks to ATF under protest,