Bump stocks studied, may be outlawed

TWO MONTHS after a shooter killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more in Las Vegas, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it’s begun a review of whether to outlaw bump stocks — the device the killer used to make his guns into automatic weapons.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in a joint statement with the ATF, said the agency will assess whether bump stocks (photo) ought to be outlawed under existing legislation that limits when such modifying devices can be used.

After the Oct. 1 mass murder, both Democrats and Republicans in Congress called for a ban on bump stocks.

When the National Rifle Association said it opposed new legislation, but would support regulatory measures by the ATF, lawmakers called on officials to determine whether the agency had the authority to regulate bump stocks without congressional action.

The ATF announced it will start the process a day before Acting Director Thomas Brandon will testify in front of a Senate committee hearing that was previously postponed.