National Rifle Association Executive Director Chris Cox said Sunday that the federal government should review “any device” that effectively transforms semi-automatic fire weapons to automatic ones. The gun rights group has previously said that the so-called “bump stock” device that Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock used should be regulated.
“It is illegal to convert a semi-automatic to fully automatic,” Cox said on “Fox News Sunday,” calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to review the devices. “The ATF needs to do their job, review these and if there is [a need for] further regulation, then we will work on further regulation.”
Cox added that he did not believe this would prevent much in the way of future tragedies. He said focusing attention on devices rather than human behavior will allow tragedies like the Las Vegas shooting to continue to happen.
“We don’t believe that bans have ever worked on anything. What we have said is very clear: If something transforms a semi-automatic to function like a fully automatic, then it should be regulated differently,” he said.
Automatic weapons fire continually as long as the trigger is pressed down. Semi-automatioc weapons fire only once each time the trigger is pressed. Paddock reportedly used a device called a bump stock on a semi-automatic rifle that used the gun’s recoil to make the shooter pull the trigger faster than they otherwise be able to.
The NRA’s position on bump stocks is significant because it has considerable sway over conservative lawmakers in Congress.
