State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Stalled Effort to Ban 'Bump Stocks' Illustrates Challenge of Changing State Gun Laws

Stateline: In the wake of the Las Vegas concert massacre last fall, lawmakers in at least 30 states introduced legislation to ban “bump stocks,” which convert semiautomatic guns into automatic weapons and which were used by the gunman. Only two of the bills passed.

President Donald Trump this week said he’ll direct the Department of Justice to outlaw bump stocks nationwide. But the lack of state action on a device that allowed one man to shoot more than 500 people in a quarter-hour serves as a cautionary tale for those who think the latest tragedy — the killing of 17 at a high school in Florida — might finally prompt states to enact tougher gun laws.

In fact, the Florida House voted not to move ahead on a proposed ban on assault-style weapons just days after the school shooting with an AR-15 — as tearful students from the school looked on from the House gallery.

Read article