Michael Cargill Announces Lawsuit Against ATF & Surrenders Bump Stocks

AUSTIN, Texas - Michael Cargill announced that he filed a lawsuit (petition) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas against the ATF’s Bump Stock Ban. He also surrendered his bump stocks to the local Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) field office. The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a non-profit civil rights organization is representing Mr. Cargill in the case.

Congress has banned “machine guns” but it has not banned bump stocks. Agencies like the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the ATF can’t just assume the power to rewrite the law, or our constitutional system of separation of powers and checks and balances will be gone.

For years, the ATF said that bump stocks were not machine guns under the law. Now it is saying the opposite, which means that hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Americans who relied on the ATF’s approval of bump stocks are suddenly felons. That’s not how the law in America should work.

Whether to ban bump stocks is a question—and a responsibility—that lies with Congress, not with agencies like DOJ and the ATF. If government agencies take over that decision, then our government is no longer accountable to the people.

Congress—and only Congress—can convert lawful activity into unlawful activity. But Congress has not banned bump stocks, so the ATF’s rule violates the Constitution.

ABOUT MICHAEL CARGILL

Michael Cargill served his country honorably for over 12 years in the United States Army achieving the rank of Sergeant. He has served as a Texas DPS-certified handgun license (LTC) instructor for over fifteen years and has over 20 years of firearms experience. He is also a NRA-certified Range Instructor and Chief Range Safety Officer. He is the owner of Central Texas Gun Works, an Austin firearms retail store and training business. As of 2019, Michael has taught thousands of applicants the required material to obtain a Texas LTC, and has a 99% success rate.