ATF reviewing whether to ban 'bump stocks'

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have taken the first step toward regulating rapid-fire devices called “bump stocks,” which were found among the weapons used in the Las Vegas mass murder in October, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced Tuesday.

ATF aims to clarify whether certain bump stock devices fall within the definition of “machine guns,” which are largely banned.

"Possessing firearm parts that are used exclusively in converting a weapon into a machine gun is illegal, except for certain limited circumstances,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement. “Today we begin the process of determining whether or not bump stocks are covered by this prohibition.”

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'Bump stocks' may be new to you, but federal officials have grappled with them for years

Bump-fire devices use the recoil of a semiautomatic firearm to rapidly pull the trigger, mimicking fully automatic firing.

Congress banned the sale and manufacture of new machine guns for civilian use in 1986, and machine guns in circulation before then are tightly regulated, limited in number and expensive.

But the ATF issued a series of opinions on bump-fire devices — determining in most cases they were legal — over the past decade. In 2010, the ATF concluded that a bump-stock device submitted by Slide Fire was a firearm part with no automatic function, and therefore not regulated as a firearm under gun laws.

In the wake of the shooting, Republicans and the National Rifle Association called for the ATF to review the devices and highlighted the Obama administration’s approval of their sale.

“We think the regulatory fix is the smartest quickest fix and I’d frankly like to know how it happened in the first place,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in October.

But Democrats argue the ATF found it lacked the authority to ban the devices under current law. They say legislation is needed to ban them.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will examine firearm accessory regulation during a hearing on Wednesday. However, momentum has slowed for legislation to ban bump stocks, trigger cranks and similar accessories that accelerate a semi-automatic rifle’s rate of fire.

“Law enforcement officials want to be able to stop dangerous people from building even more lethal weapons from accessories," said David Chipman, senior policy adviser for the gun-control group, Giffords, and 25-year ATF veteran. "Congress should take proper action to cement into law the ability to restrict bump stocks and stop them from being transferred to the wrong hands."

ATF took the initial step in the regulatory process by submitting an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to the Office of Management and Budget. Members of the public and industry will be able to submit comments during the rulemaking process.