Trump administration takes first step to ban bump stocks
BY LUIS SANCHEZ
TheHill.com
03/10/18
The Trump administration on Saturday began the process to ban bump stocks through regulatory action.
“The Department of Justice has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a notice of a proposed regulation to clarify that the National Firearms and Gun Control Act defines ‘machinegun’ to include bump stock type devices,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a notice of a regulation regarding the definition of “machinegun” in the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act and proposing to include “bump stock type devices, and that federal law accordingly prohibits the possession, sale, or manufacture of such devices.”
Bump stocks are devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire at faster speeds.
Sessions previously signaled that the DOJ would seek the ban despite the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) previously indicating Congress would have to act in order to ban the devices.
ATF previously ruled that it does not have the authority to regulate bump stocks under the existing regulations prohibiting machine guns under federal law.
The proposed rule next has to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget as part of the regulatory review process. ATF also has to submit an analysis and evaluate public comments on regulating the devices. The review process will likely take months.
Saturday’s announcement comes more than two weeks after President Trump first announced that he had directed the DOJ to propose the regulations.
The president proposed the regulations in response to the Florida school shooting on Feb. 14 that left 17 people dead.
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