The Associated Press
On Monday, President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) announced they are declaring bump stocks to be “machine guns” in order to ban them.
A bump stock is not a firearm; it is a firearm accessory. The DOJ is declaring them to be “machine guns” in order to ban them.
A March 12 press release put forth by the DOJ, says:
The Department of Justice is supporting President Trump’s absolute commitment to ensuring the safety and security of every American by submitting to the Office of Management and Budget a proposed regulation to clarify that bump stock type devices are machine guns under federal law, which will effectively ban the manufacture, sale or possession of these devices.
The push to ban bump stocks began in Congress almost immediately after the October 1, 2017, Las Vegas attack. On October 6 — just five days after the attack — Breitbart News reported[2] that 11 Republicans supported some action on bump stocks. Those 11 were:
- House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) – On October 5, Speaker Ryan said legislation banning bump stocks is “clearly[3]” something Congress must look into.
- Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX)[4] – Flores admitted he did not know what a bump stock was until this week, yet he says[5] he looked into them and is backing gun control via a ban on them.
- Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) – On October 5, Yoder put out a press release in which he inaccurately claimed[6] that bump stocks “convert legal firearms into an automatic weapon.” They do not. They are an accessory, not a conversion device. It is unclear whether Rep. Yoder used the term “ convert” in a colloquial or technical sense, but previously, under the Obama Administration, Rick Vasquez, former acting chief of the Firearms Technology Branch of the ATF, told[7] USA Today that bump stocks were legalized because they are “an accessory, not a conversion device.”They do not. They are an accessory, not a conversion device. Nevertheless, Yoder supports gun control via restoring the ban on the devices.
- Rep. Mark Meadow (R-NC) – Meadows is the head of the House Freedom Caucus and according[8] to the New York Times, he “would be open to considering a bill” that reinstates a ban on bump stocks.
- Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) – NYT reports[9] that Curbelo is drafting gun control legislation to banbump stocks “conversion kits.” (apparently referring to bump stocks as “conversion kits”) – which the Obama Administration said they were not.
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) – On October 4, Breitbart News reported[10] that Cornyn said a hearing on a bump stock ban would be “worthwhile.”
- Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) – On October 4, Politico reported[11] that Johnson said, “Automatic weapons
