It has caused an uproar in the US the United States Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate a federal regulation which bans the “bump stock,” a device that multiplies the operating speed of semi-automatic rifles, effectively turning them into machine guns.

By six votes to three, those of conservative judges versus progressives, The Court ruled that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) exceeded its authority in 2018 by classifying “bump stocks” as machine guns, which are prohibited by a 1934 law, the era of Prohibition.

The regulation was imposed in 2019 by then-President Donald Trump’s administration following the use of bump stocks in a 2017 mass shooting. that killed 58 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas.

Federal officials have said the regulation was necessary for public safety in the US, a country facing persistent gun violence.

Federal law prohibits the sale or possession of machine guns, which is punishable by 10 years imprisonment.