Gun company sues US over bump stock ban, claiming $20M in losses

A Texas gun company is suing the U.S. government over the newly enacted ban on “bump stocks,” claiming that it has cost $20 million in losses.

RW Arms, Ltd. announced the federal lawsuit Monday after filing it late last month.

{mosads}The company, which touts itself as the nation’s largest supplier of bump stocks, claims the government enacted the ban on the devices “without just compensation … in violation of the 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

RW Arms, which filed the lawsuit with Minnesota retailer Modern Sportsman, says it destroyed over 73,000 bump stocks in compliance with the ban, and is seeking fair market value compensation for the losses, according to the release.

Michael Stewart, co-founder of RW Arms, called the ban “an injustice, overreach, and infringement on our 2nd Amendment and 5th Amendment rights.”

“Without legislation, the government was able to overturn the previous ruling on bump stocks, effectively turning law abiding gun owners into felons overnight if they were not turned in or destroyed,” he said on Facebook.

The bump stock ban, which President Trump’s Justice Department issued in December in response to multiple mass shootings in recent years, went into effect last month.

The Supreme Court last week rejected a bid from gun rights groups to temporarily delay the ban on the devices, which can be attached to firearms to make them fire more rapidly. They were used in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, which was the deadliest shooting in U.S. history.