We’re still waiting on official reports detailing the firearms used in the Las Vegas massacre, but much of the attention about those guns is now on the “bump fire stock” that was widely reported as being installed on one or more of the killer’s firearms. It’s quite burdensome, both bureaucratically and financially, to legally acquire a machine gun, as I discussed here on LN earlier this week. Since they are appealing for various reasons, many have tried to legally achieve the cyclic rate, or rapid-fire, of a machine gun without having to meet those burdens. 
What’s A Bump Stock?
There are all sorts of devices that have been invented to achieve full-auto speed, all with varying degrees of success, but falling well short of delivering reliable, sustained, accurate shots. The engineering premise behind many of these is that they enable the shooter to pull the trigger much faster than they ordinarily could. That’s what we have with bump stocks. Here’s helpful video that will make it quite clear:
NRA Advocates New Regulations
Heeding the calls of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and others, the National Rifle Association released a statement on Thursday supporting new regulations on bump stocks:
“Despite the fact that the Obama administration approved the sale of bump fire stocks on at least two occasions, the National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law. The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.”
This is a stunning departure from the previous pronouncements from the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. The NRA has previously held the position that no new federal gun regulations were required, welcomed, or allowed. Pelosi hopes the bump fire stock regulations will lead to many more restrictions:
Thursday at her weekly press briefing when asked if legislation to ban bump-stocks could lead to more gun control measures, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said, “I certainly hope so.”
Nancy Pelosi actually said, “So what they are going to say if you give them bump-stocks it’s going to be a slippery slope I certainly hope so.”
Gun Owners of America, on the other hand, had this to say:
We cannot blame gun owners, the gun itself, or the liberties protected in the Second Amendment for how evil people abuse that freedom.
The vast majority of gun owners — like yourself — handle their firearms responsibly.
Guns are being used every day to save lives — and good Americans have even used their firearms to stop mass shootings.
No word yet on whether the NRA now, like Rep. Pelosi would like to see other more restrictive rules, or stop at more regulations only for bump-stock. Good luck getting that camel out of the tent.
