Supreme Court leaves Trump bump stock ban in place

The Supreme Court left in place on Monday President Donald Trump's ban on bump stocks, turning away an appeal from owners of the device and gun rights groups. Last year, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives banned bump stock devices -- attachments that essentially allow shooters to fire semiautomatic rifles continuously with one pull of the trigger. A group of bump stock owners and Second Amendment groups sought to challenge how the administration went about banning the devices. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed to the court by Trump, wrote a statement saying he agrees the current case should not be heard and that the court was correct not to intervene, but he was concerned with how the lower court handled the issue. "Justice Gorsuch's separate opinion isn't about the merits of the bump stocks rule, but rather whether the lower court applied the correct standard of review in considering those merits. The court's denial here suggests that the justices are willing to let lower court litigation over the controversial Trump administration rule run its course before deciding if -- and how -- to intervene," said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law...MORE