Amped-up weapons
Sen. Feinstein backed bans of 2 devices that speed up firing
LAS VEGAS — The man who unleashed hundreds of rounds of gunfire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas had two accessories that Sen. Dianne Feinstein has long sought to ban because they can essentially turn semiautomatic rifles into military-style machine guns, officials said.
The devices, called “slide” or “bump stocks,” can increase the rate of fire to as much as 100 rounds in seven seconds, according to websites touting them. The modifications may be why Stephen Paddock was able to launch such a withering fusillade at concertgoers, said Feinstein, whose 2013 proposal to outlaw bump stocks was voted down by Republicans in Congress.
Feinstein, D-Calif., renewed her call Tuesday for legislation banning the devices.
“This is the least we should do in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. It should be our highest priority,” she said. “Individuals are able to purchase bump fire stocks for less than $200 and easily convert a semiautomatic weapon into a firearm that can shoot between 400 and 800 rounds per minute and inflict absolute carnage.”
A bill sponsored by Feinstein banning assault weapons was passed in 1994, but it had a 10-year sunset window and expired in 2004. In 2013, after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Feinstein attempted to reinstate the assault weapons ban, including bump stocks, but the effort failed.
“She is looking at something this time around specific to the bump stock,” said Ashley Schapitl, Feinstein’s press secretary.
“She’s reaching out to Republicans, but based on the statements we’ve seen today I think it would be unlikely for any of them to co-sponsor a bill.”
Ironically, the attack appeared to be boosting sales of bump stocks.
A semiautomatic weapon requires one trigger pull for each round fired. With a fully automatic firearm, one trigger pull can unleash continuous rounds until the magazine is empty. The bump stock devices work by manipulating the trigger mechanism extremely rapidly, far faster than a person could do so without them.
Authorities found two bump stocks in Paddock’s hotel room, two officials familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press. They are investigating whether those items were used to modify weapons used in the massacre, according to the officials, who were briefed by law enforcement and spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still unfolding. Sheriff Joseph Lombardo acknowledged investigators had recovered the devices, but stopped short of saying whether they were used in the attack.
Authorities say Paddock opened fire from the windows of his 32nd floor hotel room late Sunday, killing at least 59 people and wounding hundreds more at a country music festival. Police stormed his room and found he had killed himself after committing the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Witnesses and law enforcement officials said the quick, 50-round bursts of gunfire raised the likelihood that Paddock had used a fully automatic weapon or modified his semiautomatic rifles to function like one. Paddock had 23 guns in his hotel room, some of them with scopes.
The purchasing of fully automatic weapons has been significantly restricted in the U.S. since the 1930s.
In 1986, the federal National Firearms Act was amended further to prohibit the transfer or possession of machine guns by civilians, with an exception for those previously manufactured and registered.
Numerous attempts to design retrofits failed until recent years when bump stocks came on the market.
The device basically replaces the gun’s shoulder rest, with a “support step” that covers the trigger opening. By holding the pistol grip with one hand and pushing forward on the barrel with the other, the shooter’s finger comes in contact with the trigger. The recoil causes the gun to buck back and forth, “bumping” the trigger.
Technically, that means the finger is pulling the trigger for each round fired, keeping the weapon a legal semiautomatic.
Sales appeared to soar after the shooting. Ed Turner, a former police officer who owns a gun shop in Stockbridge, Ga., said he’s seeing a run on bump stocks since Sunday. While he would be surprised if he had sold two of them in the past decade, he is now unable to find any available, even from wholesalers.