Policy Summary: On March 23, 2018, the United States Department of Justice proposed a new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulation that would effectively ban “bump stocks.” Bump stocks are add on gun components that when attached to a semi – automatic gun permits the weapon to harness the gun’s recoil energy after firing one shot or one pull of the gun’s trigger. The recoil energy is then used to facilitate the non – stop firing of the semi – automatic weapon with the aforementioned single trigger pull. The bump stock is attached to the rear of the weapon and when attached does not modify a gun’s internal components. The bump stock allows the weapon to fire more bullets at a faster rate without requiring a second or subsequent pull of the trigger by a shooter. LEARN MORE
Analysis: The announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions on the new regulation banning bump stocks is likely to be greeted with plenty of enthusiasm. The controversial device was not used in the Parkland, Florida shooting. However, it was used by Stephen Paddock to kill fifty – eight people at a concert in Las Vegas, Nevada in October of 2017. The device allowed him to shoot numerous rounds rapidly akin to using a fully automatic weapon, also known as a machine gun. According to this report, the use of a bump stock allowed Stephen Paddock to shoot ten rounds a second at a concert containing more than 20,000 people. While taking the step to ban these devices that increase the ability to fire more bullets in a shorter time span, the remaining question is whether this ban will reduce the epidemic of mass shootings in America.
Banning bump stocks can help reduce the high numbers of casualties at these mass shootings but it still does not get to the root problem of why mass shootings keep occurring. The shooter in Parkland, Florida was able to kill seventeen people in just under seven minutes without adding a bump stock add on to his weapon. The Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooter also was reported to not have used the bump stock device when he killed twelve people in less than ten minutes. President Trump and Jeff Sessions have made a wise decision to ban these devices in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida shooting but the reality is that bump stocks are not the only problem. America is going to have look past bump stocks and take a look at the bigger picture (mental health, availability of guns, age limits, etc.) to enact comprehensive and common sense gun restriction laws. LEARN MORE, LEARN MORE
Engagement Resources:
Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence – non – profit group advocating an end to gun violence.
Every Town For Gun Safety – non – profit group looking to end gun violence and build safer communities.
Coalition To Stop Gun Violence – coalition group on issues of guns in America.
This brief was compiled by Rod Maggay. If you have comments or want to add the name of your organization to this brief, please contact Rod@USResistnews.org.