Saying bump stocks are similar to machine guns, the Trump administration is banning the firearm accessory that came to national attention last October after a man in Las Vegas unleashed murderous gunfire on concertgoers.
The new regulation requires bump stock owners to turn them in to federal law enforcement or destroy them within 90 days after the ban is published in the Federal Register.
“The Department of Justice is amending the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to clarify that bump-stock-type devices-meaning ‘bump fire’ stocks, slide-fire devices, and devices with certain similar characteristics-are ‘machine guns’,” the order reads. “Current possessors of these devices will be required to destroy the devices or abandon them at an ATF office prior to the effective date of the rule.”
Bump stocks make it easier to rapidly fire the trigger of a semi-automatic weapon. President Donald Trump said he intended to outlaw the devices in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, which killed 59 people and injured 851 more—422 by gunfire.
The National Rifle Association hasn’t publicly commented on the regulatory order.
Exactly how many bump stocks are in people’s hands is unknown. After the shooting, prices for the accessory skyrocketed in anticipation of a ban.
