The Inventor of Bump Stock Fights Back! (ft. Slide Fire)

John welcomes Jeremiah, the founder and inventor behind Slide Fire and the bump stock, for a different kind of State of the Second episode recorded from John's home studio. Jeremiah lays out his origin story: a retired Air Force veteran who grew up as a dirt farmer in West Texas, he created Slide Fire Solutions in 2010 with a goal of selling 500 units in the first year. He put a couple of videos on YouTube, sold the first 500 in four days, and the company was born. Over the next several years he brought 39 different products to market across 11 platforms and grew into a large company, all while holding ATF letters confirming his products were within the law. Then came October 1, 2017, the Las Vegas shooting, which put a spotlight on his company. Jeremiah argues the response was unfair because his product does not shoot bullets and would not stop a mass shooting. He describes the ban that took effect in March 2019, the government destroying roughly 80,000 to 85,000 units of his inventory, being sued by over a thousand people, and being told he had no legal recourse. He recounts the years in limbo, nearly losing his tooling when it sat dormant in a warehouse, and the trip to fly up to Pennsylvania and drive it down to Texas to recover it. The Fifth Circuit's split with other circuit courts gave him a real shot, the Supreme Court took the case, and a 6-3 ruling found the government overreached and that a bump stock is not a machine gun. With the ban overturned, Slide Fire is rebuilding. Three products are back online, with the AK, Ruger 10/22, AR, and Glock models in the works. Jeremiah has filed a 97-page lawsuit, framing it less as a fight about bump stocks and more about compensation for property the government took and destroyed, a constitutional right he compares to eminent domain. His statute of limitations runs out in March, so timing was close. John and Jeremiah talk through the broader pattern of ATF overreach, the 'war on plastic' that followed with pistol braces and FRT triggers, the VA fiduciary rule that once affected Jeremiah himself, and a culture they say has traded facts for feelings. He closes asking people to know their rights, support the company, and buy a bump stock, and floats leading a congressional investigation into Vegas. Questions this episode answers Who invented the bump stock and how did Slide Fire get started? Jeremiah, a retired Air Force veteran who grew up as a dirt farmer in West Texas, invented the bump stock and founded Slide Fire Solutions in 2010. He posted a couple of videos on YouTube, sold his first 500 units in four days, and the company was born. How many products did Slide Fire bring to market before the ban? Jeremiah brought 39 different products to market across 11 platforms and grew Slide Fire into a large company, all while holding ATF letters confirming his products were within the law. What happened to Slide Fire's inventory after the 2017 Las Vegas shooting? After the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas shooting put a spotlight on the company, a ban took effect in March 2019 and the government destroyed roughly 80,000 to 85,000 units of his inventory. Jeremiah was sued by over a thousand people and told he had no legal recourse. How did the Supreme Court rule on the bump stock ban, and on what grounds? After the Fifth Circuit split with other circuit courts, the Supreme Court took the case and ruled 6-3 that the government overreached and that a bump stock is not a machine gun, overturning the ban. What is Jeremiah's new lawsuit against the government actually about? He has filed a 97-page lawsuit framed less as a fight about bump stocks and more about compensation for property the government took and destroyed, a constitutional right he compares to eminent domain. His statute of limitations runs out in March, so the timing was close. How is Slide Fire rebuilding, and which products are coming back? With the ban overturned, Slide Fire is rebuilding and has three products back online. The AK, Ruger 10/22, AR, and Glock models are in the works. How did the VA fiduciary rule affect Jeremiah personally? The VA fiduciary rule, which Jeremiah says once affected him personally, comes up as part of a broader pattern of government overreach he and the host discuss, alongside the so-called war on plastic targeting pistol braces and FRT triggers. Where can people find and support Slide Fire? Jeremiah asks people to know their rights, support the company, and buy a bump stock. Slide Fire can be found online at bumpstock.com. Chapters 00:00 — Meet Jeremiah, inventor of the bump stock 00:35 — From West Texas dirt farmer to Slide Fire founder 01:29 — Rapid Fire questions 03:51 — The rise of Slide Fire and 39 products 04:56 — Vegas, the ban, and the units destroyed 08:18 — Years in limbo and recovering the tooling 12:07 — You broke my stuff: the takings argument 13:38 — Soapbox: the lawsuit and ATF rulemaking 18:50 — Veteran-owned companies destroyed by the government 19:46 — The VA fiduciary rule and the Brady rule 22:23 — Living through the Vegas fallout 25:57 — The feeling when the ruling came in 29:30 — Law-abiding owners and getting into the fight 46:36 — How a bump stock works and the feelings problem 54:40 — Where to find and support Slide Fire About the guest Jeremiah is the founder and inventor of Slide Fire, the company behind the bump stock. A retired Air Force veteran who grew up as a dirt farmer in West Texas, he created Slide Fire Solutions in 2010 and sold his first 500 units in four days after posting videos on YouTube. He brought 39 different products to market across 11 platforms and holds numerous patents on the design. After the government banned bump stocks and destroyed roughly 80,000 to 85,000 of his units, he fought the case to the Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 that his product is not a machine gun. He now lives in East Tennessee, where he is rebuilding the company and pursuing a lawsuit for compensation. His personal Instagram handle is Bearded Prophet [VERIFY], and the company also posts as Slide Fire Reboot. Key quotes "I put a couple of videos out, and we sold the first 500 in the first four days, and slide Fire was born." — Jeremiah "You're going to ban something to stop mass shootings and you ban something that doesn't stop bullets." — Jeremiah "It's not about bump stocks so much as it is, you broke my stuff." — Jeremiah "It was just me, like, I am the industry. I hold all the patents. All of the bump stocks originate from slide fire." — Jeremiah "We've stopped using words to communicate information and logic, but we've started using words to communicate feelings instead." — Jeremiah "Our goal as GOA is to put ourselves out of business. We want to make the second Amendment so strong that we no longer have to fight that we are gone." — John