Washington, D.C - Friday marks the 4th anniversary of the 1 October massacre in which 60 people were killed and hundreds more injured. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
On Wednesday Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada’s 1st Congressional District , as well as a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force introduced the “Closing The Bump Stock Loophole Act” renewing a concerted effort to ban the devices.
“As we mark four years since the tragic events of 1 October, my thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured and with the professionals who cared for them. It’s time to make our country safer for all of us and for future generations by answering the nation's call for action on gun violence prevention,” said Congresswoman Titus. “Machine guns have been illegal in the U.S. for decades. Yet bump stocks have allowed gun manufacturers to circumnavigate the law to produce fully automatic weapons like the ones used on 1 October. Closing The Bump Stock Loophole Act builds on proven existing law by requiring bump stocks to be registered under the National Firearms Act, subjecting these dangerous devices to the strictest of regulation. Congressional action is critically needed to address this epidemic of gun violence. On behalf of the families of those lost and the survivors of the 1 October massacre, Pulse nightclub, El Paso, Newtown, Parkland, and countless other incidents of gun violence that occur every day in communities across the country, we must take real, commonsense action to prevent future tragedies and make our communities safer.”
Under the language of the bill,
- Bump stocks would be regulated 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. However, bump stocks that are already in existence would not have to be destroyed, but would have to be registered with ATF within one year of the bill’s enactment.
- The industry would not be able to design around this law, since it covers not just devices that are accessories sold separately from firearms, but also parts and modifications that accomplish the same goal in the same manner as a bump stock - increasing the rate of firearm by eliminating the need for each single function of the trigger. This language is the most explicit description of these devices that exists.
Additionally, this bill would allow people the opportunity to register bump stocks they currently own with ATF.