Trump administration banned bump stocks in 2019; measure writes change into law
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus’ legislation to enshrine the federal government’s ban on bump stocks — devices that effectively convert some semiautomatic weapons to fully automatic — into law, passed in a bipartisan U.S. House vote Wednesday but faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
Titus’ Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act was written into a larger gun control measure, which passed the House in a bipartisan vote. The bill also raises the age requirement to purchase semi-automatic weapons to 21.
The bill requires the federal government to regulate bump stocks like machine guns, meaning that they must be registered with ATF under the National Firearms Act, and it would generally be illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess new bump stocks for civilian use.
The legislation targets any effort to increase the rate of gunfire by eliminating the need for every single function of the trigger. The Trump administration banned bump stocks in 2019. Several lawsuits are pending regarding their illegality.
On Oct. 1, 2017, a gunman killed 60 people in Las Vegas using bump stocks. It is the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
The shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival on the Las Vegas Strip killed 58 people that Sunday night. Two more people have died since of injuries received in the shooting.
“All too often, communities across the country experience the heartbreaking pain of a mass shooting,” Titus said in a statement after Wednesday’s vote. “The 1 October tragedy in Las Vegas that took 58 lives was at the forefront of my mind as I voted for a comprehensive gun reform package tonight.”
“Continued inaction is not an option,” she said. “I now urge my Senate colleagues to take up these commonsense gun reform measures. Our children and our communities cannot wait any longer.”
Other members of Nevada’s congressional delegation weighed in on the vote.
Nearly five years ago, on October 1, 2017, Las Vegas became the site of our country’s deadliest mass shooting when 60 people were shot and killed and hundreds more were wounded at a concert on the Strip. We know all too well the pain that cities like Uvalde, Buffalo and Tulsa have faced in recent weeks. Americans no longer feel safe going to concerts, to grocery stores, to movie theaters, to houses of worship, and our kids and teachers don’t feel safe going to school. Every day in this country, 110 people die from gun violence. Enough is enough – it’s time to stop the bloodshed. This week, I was proud to vote to pass the Protecting Our Kids Act. This common-sense legislation will help to curb gun violence by raising the purchase age for semi-automatic weapons to 21, outlawing high-capacity magazines that make mass shootings more deadly, cracking down on gun trafficking, and strengthening safe storage requirements.
Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nevada)
My father was shot and killed by senseless gun violence nearly 30 years ago. It’s with a heavy heart that I speak out for those murdered by everyday gun violence and the survivors who must live with the trauma, including the victims from the 2017 1 October shooting, and the recent mass shootings in Uvalde, TX, Buffalo, NY and Tulsa, OK.”
Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nevada)