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Bump stock ban passes Washington state legislative committee


FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2017 file photo, a little-known device called a bump stock is attached to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range in South Jordan, Utah. Massachusetts is on its way to becoming the first state since the Las Vegas shooting massacre to outlaw devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to mimic fully automatic guns. The Massachusetts Senate voted 33-0 on Thursday, Oct. 12, to ban the sale of bump stocks and trigger cranks, attachments that increase the firing rate of a weapon. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2017 file photo, a little-known device called a bump stock is attached to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range in South Jordan, Utah. Massachusetts is on its way to becoming the first state since the Las Vegas shooting massacre to outlaw devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to mimic fully automatic guns. The Massachusetts Senate voted 33-0 on Thursday, Oct. 12, to ban the sale of bump stocks and trigger cranks, attachments that increase the firing rate of a weapon. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state Senate panel has approved a bill that would ban trigger devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire more rapidly, similar to the ones used in the Las Vegas mass shooting.

The Spokesman-Review reports the Law and Justice Committee approved the bill after rejecting a Republican bid to allow them to be sold if the purchaser passes a federal firearms background check.

The devices are known as bump stocks or bump-fire stocks.

They were used to increase the firing rate of some rifles used by shooter Stephen Paddock last year in Las Vegas.

Washington Republican Sen. Mike Padden says the Las Vegas shooting was "horrific," but preventing future events might be better addressed through improved mental health programs.

The devices were originally designed to help shooters with disabilities.

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