The Justice Department announced Saturday it has put forth a new regulation to ban “bump stocks,” taking the initial step in the regulatory review process to do so.
Under the proposed regulation, which requires approval from the Office of Management and Budget, a bump stock would be included in the definition of machine gun under the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act and prohibited under federal law.
“President Trump is absolutely committed to ensuring the safety and security of every American and he has directed us to propose a regulation addressing bump stocks,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.
The president asked the Justice Department in February to ban the devices, which are used to speed up the rate of fire of semi-automatic firearms to resemble that of an automatic weapon.
Efforts to ban bump stocks reached a fever pitch last year after 58 people were killed in a shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas. Law enforcement officials investigating the incident found 12 firearms outfitted with bump stocks in the hotel room where gunman Stephen Paddock fired down at the festival from.
In the wake of the shooting, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for a ban on the devices. But the debate stalled in the weeks following the incident.
Congress and President Trump raised the need for a ban on bump stocks again after the deadly Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla.
The measure was one of several proposals lawmakers have raised as part of discussions surrounding stricter gun laws.
Until the president directed the Justice Department to regulate bump stocks last month, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives indicated it didn’t have the power to regulate the devices.
In October, the National Rifle Association called for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to examine whether bump stocks comply with federal law and suggested it is open to further regulations on the devices.
But following the shooting in Parkland and Trump’s request to the Justice Department to regulate bump stocks, the group said it needed to see the actual regulation before commenting on it.
The NRA said in a statement last month bans on semi-automatic rifles and accessories have not prevented illegal acts.
“Fully-automatic weapons have been heavily regulated since the 1930s, but banning semi-automatic firearms and accessories has been shown time and again to not prevent criminal activity and simply punishes the law-abiding for the criminal acts of others,” the NRA said.
