Rep. Titus Bump Stock Bill Passes House

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed her Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act on a bipartisan vote of 233-194.

"All too often, communities across the country experience the heartbreaking pain of a mass shooting," said Rep. Titus. "The 1 October tragedy in Las Vegas that took 58 lives was at the forefront of my mind as I voted for a comprehensive gun reform package tonight.

"My Bump Stock Loophole Act, which is included in the package, would make the dangerous device used by the Las Vegas shooter illegal through federal law. We must act to codify regulation to permanently close off access to these deadly weapons that do not belong in civilian hands.

"Continued inaction is not an option. I now urge my Senate colleagues to take up these commonsense gun reform measures. Our children and our communities cannot wait any longer."

Background

A May 2022 FBI report found that active shooter incidents jumped more than 50 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, with these incidents resulting in a higher number of casualties. The United States has had more than 245 mass shootings this year alone.

Historically, the gun industry has evaded national gun laws through the creation of supplemental and unregulated devices to augment firing capabilities. One of these dangerous devices, known as a bump stock, attaches to a semi-automatic rifle to increase a rate of fire similar to machine guns. Tragically, the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in our nation's history, was made possible by this device.

Currently, bump stocks are illegal following an appeals court decision to uphold a 2019 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) bump stock ban. But, the variability of this ruling can be determined by just one single decision from a panel of judges. Bump stock proponents have petitioned the Supreme Court to take on the case and several state attorneys general have urged the Supreme Court to overturn the ban. Given this, it is imperative to proactively enact a codified regulation to permanently close off access to these devices and prevent deadly shootings in the future.

The Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act would regulate bump stocks in the same manner as machine guns by building on existing regulation to ban the manufacture, sale, or possession of bump stocks for civilian use.

Source