President Trump made good on his word. This week, his administration officially banned bump stocks. (Photo: Slidefire)
The Trump administration officially banned bump stocks this week.
Attorney General Mathew Whitaker signed the new rule Tuesday morning, It gives owners of “‘bump fire’ stocks, slide-fire devices, and devices with certain similar characteristic” 90 days to turn them over to authorities or destroy them, reported CNN.
“With limited exceptions, the Gun Control Act, as amended, makes it unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun unless it was lawfully possessed prior to the effective date of the statute,” states an early draft of the rule.
“The bumpstock-type devices covered by this final rule were not in existence prior to the effective date of the statute, and therefore will be prohibited when this rule becomes effective.
“Consequently, under the final rule, current possessors of these devices will be required to destroy the devices or abandon them at an ATF office prior to the effective date of the rule,” it continues.
Those who fail to comply run the risk of being charged with unlawful possession of a “machinegun,” which is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to the DOJ.
SEE ALSO: Here’s Why ATF Approved Bump Stock But Not AutoGlove
Gun Owners of America has already promised to sue the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Department of Justice over the ban.
“As written, this case has important implications for gun owners since, in the coming days, an estimated half a million bump stock owners will have the difficult decision of either destroying or surrendering their valuable property — or else risk felony prosecution,” said Erich Pratt, executive director of GOA in a statement obtained by GunsAmerica.
“The new ATF regulations would arbitrarily redefine bump stocks as ‘machineguns’ — and, down the road, could implicate the right to own AR-15’s and many other lawfully owned semi-automatic firearms,” Pratt added. “ATF’s new bump stock regulation clearly violates federal law, as bump stocks do not qualify as machineguns under the federal statute.”
To Pratt’s point, this new rule directly contradicts previous determinations made by the ATF that identified bump stocks as “firearm parts,” — not machine guns. It stands to reason that a sound legal challenge can be made, using the ATF’s own logic no less, that this prohibition contravenes existing law.
Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association, which had called for “additional regulations” on bump stocks in the wake of the Las Vegas killing, said in a statement that it was “disappointed” with the ruling, believing there should have been a grandfather clause for current owners.
“We are disappointed that this final rule fails to address the thousands of law-abiding Americans who relied on prior ATF determinations when lawfully acquiring these devices,” NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker told Fox News.
The government has NEVER been delegated the power to control the peoples arms. They are usurping this power, plain and simple. George Washington warned us against allowing the government to usurp un-delegated powers. The NRA is acting like they don’t know this, but I am sure they are just as capable as I am of reading our founding documents. I am SEETHING!
The bump stock is pure politics, the previous addmin allowed it knowing some nut case was sure to misuse it and because it was attached to a black rifle all the more scary and ominous and a good reason to ban them as well. The fact that the questions about the only case of misuse are still unanswered seems more than just odd. I don’t agree that banning them will do anything except maybe let some hot air out of the gun banners, we are all safe now.
Too bad the ‘nutcase’ was suing a belt-fed 7.62 M240 series weapon.
Took ME 3 seconds to identify.
Do you people even shoot? You seem so braindead and ignorant regarding your own sport.
Sport?
Who amongst us can positively ID the sound of a 240 which is essentially legally non existent in civilian Citizen hands, I can’t. Guess I’m brain dead and brainwashed.
You think this guy was using a belt fed 7.62?
A blind man could’ve killed more fish in that barrel using that class of weapon.
Actually if you watch the shooting videos and then compare them to 240 training vids, the rate of fire and report sound ridiculously similar. I was about to call bullshit until I checked. But this guy may be right..
You ever watch the video of the FBI agents sweeping the ‘kill zone’? Someone took and posted 2, 45 minute (boring) videos of agents walking the entire area.
YA KNOW WHAT?
There isn’t ONE, SINGLE ROUND-STRIKE MARK on any surface. The ONLY evidence of a round-strike are 2 marks on that storage tower across from the venue.
So you can make your snide remarks all you want, but after examining the facts and evidence, and based on a lifetime around weapons, I decided I would live a lie, nor accept lies from PROVEN LIARS.
But please; Go on and pretend everythiiiiiing is jusssssst fine.
*I decided I would NOT live a lie….*
Keep on drinking that Left-Right, Rep-Dem flavored Kool-Aid. Trump is simply carrying on the legacy of famous anti-gun Republicans like Nixon, Reagan, HW and W. Oh wait, I thought the Dems were anti-gun. Remember who it was that said “Take the guns first, then due process.”
Blind partisanship…. goes down smoooth.
So give us an alternative…HilBil? Kamala Harris? Spartacus Booker? A “solid” Republican? We need to hear solutions, not bitching
There is no ‘solution’. If voting changed anything it would be illegal.
Besides, to vote is to consent to the treason and usurpation’s of your Bill of Rights. Anyone still voting is complicit in the ongoing crime of this criminal, occupying force, period.
Your alternative is to stop voting and stop supporting an illegal and unconstitutional government. You vote? Then you’ve consented to their criminality, because you chose ‘the lesser’ of two traitors.
Exactly. Here we are exactly one year later, and Virginia is heating up. And EVERYONE is screaming about ‘liberals and dems’.
And I keep asking a question that remains unanswered; If you sainted republicans are pro-2nd…….why is there not a SINGLE PEEP from any of them regarding Virginia.
Ergo – they ALL want you disarmed.
But this is a”common sense” ruling because of all one of the times a bump stock is alleged to have been used in a crime in the 30+ years of their nefarious existence. Surely not a slippery slope for absolutely all of our other 2nd amendment rights and possessions.