Las Vegas shooting makes device a target of scrutiny
ATLANTA — The Las Vegas gunman possessed a device called a “bump stock” that was not widely sold — until now. Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday to ban the devices, and even a key Republican leader expressed concern about them.
Originally created with the idea of making it easier for people with disabilities to shoot a gun, the attachments allow a semi-automatic rifle to mimic a fully automatic weapon by unleashing an entire magazine in seconds. Now the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history has drawn attention to the devices, which critics say flout federal restrictions on automatic guns.
The stocks have been around for less than a decade. The government gave its seal of approval to selling them in 2010 after concluding that they did not violate federal law.
The device basically replaces the gun’s stock and pistol grip and causes the gun to buck back and forth, repeatedly “bumping” the trigger against the shooter’s finger. Technically, that means the finger is pulling the trigger for each round fired, keeping the weapon a legal semi-automatic.
Listings for the devices had been seen on websites for Walmart and Cabela’s, two of the nation’s largest gun retailers. But those listings were no longer on either company’s websites on Wednesday.
Walmart said in a statement that it pulled the devices after determining they violated a “prohibited items policy” and never should have been offered for sale. Cabela’s did not return messages seeking comment.
The leading bump stock maker, Slide Fire, did not return messages seeking comment. But the Texas company’s Facebook page is filled with videos extolling its features, including one in which a woman gushed, “It’s so easy because once you slid it forward and leaned into it, it just fires.” In another video, a man fires off 58 rounds to celebrate his 58th birthday in just 12 seconds.
Manufacturers tout the stocks, some of which sell for less than $200, as offering a simple and affordable alternative to automatic weapons without the hassle of a rigorous background check and other restrictions.
Ed Turner, who owns Ed’s Public Safety, a gun shop in Stockbridge, Ga., said he’s already seeing a run on bump stocks since the shooting.
Jay Wallace, owner of Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna, Ga., said soon after most of his customers buy one, “the newness wears off and they put it away and it stays in a closet.”
Gun experts say the stocks create such a jolt that accuracy is affected. That may not matter to gun owners who just want the thrill of shooting with one, or for those bent on destruction. Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old gunman, fired hundreds of rounds indiscriminately from his 32ndfloor room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on a music festival.
Authorities found bump stocks attached to 12 weapons in his room, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent in Charge Jill Schneider said.
Sen. Diane Feinstein introduced legislation Wednesday to ban the bump stocks, saying the devices can “inflict absolute carnage.”
“The only reason to modify a gun is to kill as many people as possible in as short a time as possible,” said Feinstein, D-Calif., the original author of the nation’s assault weapons ban. She called the existence of bump stocks a loophole.
California Sen. Kamala Harris and 25 other Senate Democrats joined Feinstein on the bill. Many Republicans said after the shooting that it wasn’t the right time to talk about gun laws.
But on Wednesday, senior congressional Republicans said they were open to considering legislation banning bump stocks.
“If somebody can essentially convert a semi-automatic weapon by buying one of these and utilizing it and cause the kind of mayhem and mass casualties that we saw in Las Vegas, that’s something of obvious concern that we ought to explore,” said the No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas. “I own a lot of guns, and as a hunter and sportsman, I think that’s our right as Americans, but I don’t understand the use of this bump stock and that’s another reason to have a hearing.”
Cornyn later said he’d spoken with Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and that Grassley was interested in convening a hearing.
Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said the industry is prepared to have the devices scrutinized. That happens regularly after a major shooting. But he and others defended their use, suggesting it’s unfair to go after firearms when other weapons — trucks and fertilizer, for example — aren’t as quickly criticized after deadly attacks.
“Ultimately, when Congress looks at this, they’ll start asking questions about why anybody needs this, and I think the answer is we have a Bill of Rights and not a Bill of Needs,” Pratt said.
Washington Bureau contributed.