Bump Stock Ban Legislation Blocked

(USNewsBreak.com) – Following the devastating 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed more than 50 people, the Trump Administration enacted a ban on bump stocks in 2018. Bump stocks, a gun add-on, make it easy to fire hundreds of bullets per minute from semi-automatic weapons. The Supreme Court recently ruled against the ban, prompting lawmakers in Congress to try to push through legislation. However, one GOP senator blocked it.

Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich (NM) introduced a bill banning the bump stocks and brought it up for a vote under unanimous consent. A legislation will pass in this circumstance, provided there are no objections.

Senate Republicans blocked bipartisan legislation Tuesday that would have outlawed bump stocks after the Supreme Court struck down a ban on the rapid-fire gun accessory used in the deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history. https://t.co/3Rc87WCyfr

— Action News 5 (@WMCActionNews5) June 19, 2024

In arguing his case before his colleagues, he said there was “no legitimate use for a bump stock,” which he said “should be banned” because a semi-automatic gun equipped with one becomes a machine gun. He pointed to the Supreme Court’s decision, saying the nation’s high court provided Congress with “clear direction on the only way for [lawmakers] to protect Americans.” Congressional action is the only way forward.

However, GOP Senator Pete Ricketts (NE) threw a wrench in Heinrich’s plans. He claimed the effort was just another Democratic ploy to ban “as many firearm accessories as possible.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) decried Republicans who he argued supported the ban during former President Donald Trump’s time in office but opposed it when a Democrat introduced the measure. Yet, not all Republicans are against the measure. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) co-sponsored the legislation.

Earlier in June, the Supreme Court overturned the bump stock ban, stating that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had no authority to create a rule prohibiting the use of the accessories. The Justices noted that even equipped with the device, a semi-automatic rifle isn’t equivalent to a machine gun because it doesn’t continuously fire with a single pull of the trigger.