Legislator: Ban gun ‘bump stocks’ in state

Orlando Democrat Linda Stewart filed a bill in Tallahassee this week that would ban the sale of “bump stock” devices like the one used by the Las Vegas shooter to rain bullets on thousands of concertgoers.

“My bill would make it illegal to retrofit semi-automatics to be automatic,” said the state senator, whose proposal will be up for consideration in the next legislative session in January.

Bump stocks have drawn widespread attention since Oct. 1, when Stephen Paddock fired several guns from a window at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds of others who had gathered for a countrymusic show.

Paddock, who killed himself, used bump stocks to modify his semi-automatic weapons to make them fire more rapidly.

Some Republicans in Congress have said they were open to the idea of banning the devices nationwide.

But Stewart said, “I don’t think you can rely on Congress to get much done. I need to move forward in the state of Florida to make this illegal.”

She said it was yet to be determined whether to require Florida bump stock owners to give them up or register them with the state.

“We definitely want to ban the sale of them in the state of Florida,” Stewart said. “I’m willing to cooperate in committee.”

She said she was hopeful she would get bipartisan support, adding that the National Rifle Association had initially not taken a position on the controversy.

Since then, however, the NRA said it was open to regulating bump stocks but opposed banning them outright.

Stewart said a bump stock ban would only be a first step, adding that she also refiled a gun safety bill last week that would ban the sale of civilian versions of military assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The ban would not apply to guns already purchased in Florida.

State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, filed a companion bill in the state House.

At an Orlando news conference week, Stewart and Smith demanded the Legislature at least hold hearings on that bill.

Stewart originally filed the gun bill in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, but it was never heard in either chamber.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.