Trigger device ban proposal

UNITED STATES: The Trump administration said it has taken the first step in the regulatory process to ban bump stocks, likely setting the stage for long legal battles with gun manufacturers while the trigger devices remain on the market.

The move was expected after President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to work towardS a ban following the shooting deaths of 17 people at a Florida high school in February.

Bump stocks, which enable guns to fire like automatic weapons, were not used in that attack - they were used in last year’s Las Vegas massacre - but have since become a focal point in the gun control debate.

The Justice Department’s regulation would classify the hardware as a machine gun banned under federal law.

That would reverse a 2010 decision by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that found bump stocks did not amount to machine guns and could not be regulated unless Congress amended existing firearms law or passed a new one.

A reversal of the department’s earlier evaluation could be seen as an admission that it was legally flawed, which manufacturers could seize on in court. Even as the Trump administration moves toward banning the devices, some ATF officials believe it lacks the authority to do so.

But any congressional effort to create new gun control laws would need support from the pro-gun Republican majority.

Some states have sought their own restrictions in light of the inaction. A ban on bump stocks was part of a far-reaching school safety bill signed by Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, on Saturday that was immediately met with a lawsuit by the National Rifle Association.