Final Day to Comment on Bump-Stock Ban

What’s the story?

• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) public comment period on the banning of bump stocks ends on June 27.
• The ATF claims “these devices convert an otherwise semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun” that are “able to produce automatic fire with a single pull of the trigger.”
• Public comments can be made here.

What would happen if bump stocks were banned?

• If the ATF's proposed rule were to be adopted, it would change the current definition of “machine gun” under the under the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968 to include bump stock-type devices.
• This would effectively ban the mechanism, and all bump stocks would need to be destroyed or turned over the police. The penalty for ownership would be fines of up to $10,000 and/or up to 10 years in jail.

What are bump stocks?

• Bump stocks are mechanisms that allows semi-automatic weapons to mimic the firing speed of automatic weapons.
• Twelve of the rifles the Las Vegas mass shooter had in his hotel room were modified with a "bump stock."

What do you think?

 Do you support a ban on bump stocks? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

And be sure to leave a public comment here.

—Josh Herman

Related Reading

• Word of the Day: Bump Stock
• Overnight Carnage: Deadliest Mass Shooting in U.S. History - 59 Dead, 527 Injured

(Photo Credit: singha103 / iStock)