Outlaw bump stocks in Connecticut

The issue: The term “bump stock” became part of the general public’s vernacular in October after the Las Vegas gunman used the devices to make his weapons fire with machine gun rapidity and kill 58 concert-goers and injure hundreds of others. Calls for a ban on bump stocks quickly arose and gained widespread support.

Connecticut’s senators introduced legislation in Washington, the Automatic Gun Fire Prevention Act. Others called for the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to re-evaluate its decision that bump stocks complied with the 1986 ban on machine guns.

But with any federal remedy agonizingly slow, states such as Massachusetts, New Jersey and Florida passed their own bans. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed similar legislation for Connecticut, saying “bump stocks are cheap, they are deadly and they have no place in our society.”

What we said: “Possibly we can find common ground with this: Prohibiting the use of

‘bump stocks’ on weapons . ... No one should be able to to turn a semiautomatic gun into a machine gun by adding an attachment.”

Editorial, Oct. 6

“The National Rifle Association, which in recent years has resisted any further controls whatsover, on Thursday said that bump stocks ‘should be subject to additional regulations.’ ... The momentum toward agreement on such a common sense issue must be marshaled.”

Editorial, Oct. 11

“Malloy’s proposed ban would cover not only the bump stock, but other devices he referred to as ‘rate of fire enhancements’ like binary trigger systems and trigger cranks . ... The legislature should embrace these proposals . ... The of ‘rate of fire enhancements’ is not a Second Amendment issue. This is a common sense action designed to protect the citizens of Connecticut . .... A madman with a legal gun that he can modify to satisfy his bloodlust is a peril we should not have to live with.”

Editorial, Jan. 10

The discouraging aspect to all of this is that there should be no dithering and parsing of

phrases when it comes to something as potentially dangerous as the bump stock.”

Editorial, March 18

What happened: The Judiciary Committee voted 36-5 Tuesday, with bipartisan support, to approve House Bill 5542, An Act Concerning Bump Stocks and Other Means of Enhancing the Rate of Fire of a Firearm. At a hearing March 23, nearly 300 people spoke or submitted testimony with the majority in favor. But some conservative committee members tried three times to dilute the common sense bill. Fortunately, those amendments failed.

What should happen next: The bill moves to the House where we urge its passage. There should be little debate about whether anyone needs the means to fire nine bullets a second. This is not a Democrats vs Republicans issue. State legislators are obligated to pass laws to protect the public. And furthermore: Elected leaders in Washington should take note of the recent March For Our Lives and, finally, do something. Banning bump stocks is a good start.