In the wake of the deadly Las Vegas shooting, gun control has predictably become a hot topic. Such talk generally comes to nothing, but this time may be different: several House Republicans have said they may consider a ban on bump stocks, an accessory used by the Las Vegas shooter to make semi-automatic weapons fire as rapidly as fully automatic weapons. (Read this Mic article for an excellent explanation of how bump stocks work.)
"Clearly that's something we need to look into," said Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) on MSNBC. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte of Virginia told The Washington Post that "We're going to look at the issue," and said that he had a "personal concern" about the shooting. "Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), the second-ranking Senate Republican, said
that hearings on banning bump stocks would make sense. Sen. John Thune
(R-S.D.) said that a potential ban 'is worth having a conversation
about, and some of our members agree with that,'" Mike DeBonis, Elise Viebeck and Ed O'Keefe report for The Washington Post. And Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told reporters he had "no problem" banning bump stocks.
They may not be the only Republicans considering action. "A House Republican with close ties to leadership who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations said there was a growing willingness to address the accessories among GOP lawmakers — if only to combat the perception that Congress has done nothing to address mass shootings," the Post reports. The anonymous lawmaker said he didn't think the National Rifle Association would "put up much of the fight" and pointed out that bump stocks were made legal by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during President Obama's tenure.
The Democrats have not been idle. "Congressional Democrats on Wednesday unveiled new, narrowly tailored proposals to ban devices used in the shooting and revived old ideas to close loopholes and restrict some gun purchases," the Post reports. Sen. Diane Feinstein of California introduced a bill to ban bump stocks that now has 38 co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he plans to reintroduce a bill that closes a loophole gun dealers had exploited. Under current laws, if the FBI has not completed a background check on a gun buyer after three days, dealers can go ahead and sell the weapon to that buyer. "Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also intends to reintroduce a bill to change the national background check system. Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) plans to reintroduce legislation that would allow qualified gun owners to use 'smart gun' technology that can restrict who can use a weapon," the Post reports.
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| A gun store employee demonstrates how a bump stock works. (Associated Press photo by Allen Breed) |
They may not be the only Republicans considering action. "A House Republican with close ties to leadership who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations said there was a growing willingness to address the accessories among GOP lawmakers — if only to combat the perception that Congress has done nothing to address mass shootings," the Post reports. The anonymous lawmaker said he didn't think the National Rifle Association would "put up much of the fight" and pointed out that bump stocks were made legal by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during President Obama's tenure.
The Democrats have not been idle. "Congressional Democrats on Wednesday unveiled new, narrowly tailored proposals to ban devices used in the shooting and revived old ideas to close loopholes and restrict some gun purchases," the Post reports. Sen. Diane Feinstein of California introduced a bill to ban bump stocks that now has 38 co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he plans to reintroduce a bill that closes a loophole gun dealers had exploited. Under current laws, if the FBI has not completed a background check on a gun buyer after three days, dealers can go ahead and sell the weapon to that buyer. "Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) also intends to reintroduce a bill to change the national background check system. Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) plans to reintroduce legislation that would allow qualified gun owners to use 'smart gun' technology that can restrict who can use a weapon," the Post reports.
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