Law Enforcement, Community Organizations Support Banning Bump Stocks
Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today announced leading law enforcement and community organizations support legislation to ban bump stocks and other accessories that allow semiautomatic weapons to fire at the same rate as machine guns:
Major Cities Chiefs Association, which represents 163,000 law enforcement personnel: “The Major Cities Chiefs Association supports the creation of the Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act in its efforts to ensure these capabilities are not available to criminals. Devices that prove legitimate in use for hunting and sports should remain available, but not changing a semiautomatic rifle’s rate of fire into a machine gun. The language within the proposed bill defines that line for citizens as well as exempts law enforcement and the government from this ban. With the use of the bump stock, 59 people were murdered and over 400 injured in a matter of minutes. With a ban in place, we hope to prevent another mass murder on such a horrific scale.”
National League of Cities: “On behalf of the 19,000 cities and towns represented by the National League of Cities (NLC), I write to express strong support for the ‘Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act of 2017’ (S. 1916 / HR 3947). We thank you for your leadership to help close one of the most dangerous loopholes in our federal gun laws.
“Unfortunately, this loophole led to one of the greatest horrific mass shootings in America. Las Vegas, a city that is infamous for its nightlife, casinos and entertainment, was brought to a standstill on the night of October 1, 2017, as a sniper took aim at concert goers from the 32 second floor of a hotel and killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more. Unfortunately, it is just the latest mass shooting among many; We must acknowledge that tragedies like the ones in Las Vegas and Orlando can occur in almost any city.”
Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, which represents 28 prosecutors: “As prosecutors, we understand the importance of commonsense federal legislation that could prevent gun violence and save lives. The Automatic Gun Fire Prevention Act would ban the sale, transfer, importation, manufacture or possession of bump stocks, trigger cranks and similar accessories that increase a semi-automatic rifle’s rate of fire. Your legislation could prevent future mass carnage. We strongly support it.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McConnell: “Although national attention to the issue of ‘bump stocks’ came to light after the tragic mass shooting which took place in Las Vegas, this trend is growing. According to a recent report by George Mason University and notes by the Los Angeles Times, these types of weapons are showing up more often not only in mass shootings, but also in ordinary crimes of violence and attacks on law enforcement officers. This is unacceptable and we must do something about it.
“Senate Bill 1916 takes a responsible and balanced approach to addressing this dangerous trend. The bill would ban the sale, transfer, importation, manufacture or possession of bump stocks, trigger cranks and similar accessories that accelerate a semi-automatic rifle’s rate of fire.”
Houston Chief of Police Art Acevedo: “Like other law enforcement officials, I have studied the Las Vegas slaughter and concluded that there is no reasonable sporting or hunting purpose served by deadly devices that simulate military weapons capabilities.”
