Internet divided over Justice Sonia Sotomayor's fiery dissent as Supreme Court rejects ban on bump stocks

WASHINGTON, DC: Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a fiery dissent, criticized a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a ban on bump stocks, stating it "eviscerates" congressional regulation of machine guns.

Her dissent was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, highlighting a sharp ideological split within the court.

SCOUTS rejects ban on bump stocks by six-three

The ruling, which was decided six-three along ideological lines, concluded that semiautomatic rifles equipped with bump stocks are not machine guns because they do not fire more than one shot with a single trigger function.

Justice Clarence Thomas authored the majority opinion while Sotomayor vehemently opposed the decision.

Justice Sotomayor expressed her strong disagreement by reading her dissent from the bench, an unusual step that underscored her profound disapproval.

"Today, the Court puts bump stocks back in civilian hands," she wrote, according to The Hill.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor argues that ruling allows gun users and manufacturers to 'circumvent federal law'

She accused the majority of ignoring the ordinary meaning of the statutory text and the purpose of congressional regulation.

“This is not a hard case. All of the textual evidence points to the same interpretation,” she said, criticizing the court for relying on technical arguments that required "six diagrams and an animation to decipher."

Sotomayor argued that the ruling allows gun users and manufacturers to "circumvent federal law," referring to the majority's interpretation as lacking common sense.

She used a vivid analogy to make her point: "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."

The bump stock ban was first implemented by former president Donald Trump's administration in 2017 after a tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas killed 58 people. The Biden administration continued to defend the ban.

However, Michael Cargill, a gun store owner in Austin, challenged the ban with support from the National Rifle Association and other gun advocacy groups.

Internet reacts to Justice Sonia Sotomayor's dissent and court ruling 

Reactions online have been deeply divided. One user on X sarcastically commented, "Wow… great job Justices. Make Mass Murder Great Again am I right?"

Another called the ruling "shameful." Conversely, a supporter of the Second Amendment praised the court, saying, "Thank you SCOTUS for doing the right thing."

Several users supported Sotomayor's stance, highlighting her criticism of the majority opinion.

"You need only to read Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent to effectively disembowel fascist majority opinion," one wrote, quoting her remarks.

 "It’s absolutely astonishing 6 justices value guns over lives," wrote one.

Some applauded her dissent as well-written despite their disagreement with the ruling, with one user noting, "This is a well-written dissent! Another horrible ruling from the court!"

Criticism of the court's decision was also fierce with comments like, "The gun lobby bought SCOTUS a long time ago," and "Mass Murderers rejoicing."

Detractors labeled her dissent as misguided. One user bluntly stated, "Sotomayor is such a moron," while another claimed, "Sotomayor once again demonstrates her almost limitless capacity to misread law and not understand simple mechanics."

Supporters of the ruling echoed similar sentiments, "Justice Sotomayor wrote, i.e., a machine gun by any other name would fire as fast... This SCOTUS is a disgrace," one critic remarked, reflecting the polarized opinions on this contentious issue.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.