NRA opposes legislation banning bump stocks

The National Rifle Association (NRA) on Thursday said it opposes legislation in both the House and the Senate that would ban the use of bump stocks, a device that can be used to increase a semi-automatic rifle’s rate of fire and was found in the hotel room of the Las Vegas shooter.

“The NRA opposes the Feinstein and Curbelo legislation,” Jennifer Baker, the director of public affairs for the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, told The Hill, referencing legislation in both chambers.

“These bills are intentionally overreaching and would ban commonly owned firearm accessories,” Baker continued.

The NRA’s opposition to the bill comes as Democrats and some Republican lawmakers have called for legislation banning bump stocks in the wake of the country’s deadliest mass shooting.

{mosads}The NRA last week called on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to review bump stock devices and said the organization thinks they “should be subject to additional regulation,” but it stopped short of pushing for new gun legislation.

“The ATF should review bump-fire stocks to ensure they comply with federal law,” Baker said.

Bills have been introduced in both chambers of Congress following the shooting at an open-air country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) on Tuesday introduced bipartisan legislation in the House that would ban the “manufacture, possession, or transfer” of bump stocks or any other device that increases a rifle’s rate of gunfire but does not convert it into a machine gun. 

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and other Democrats last week introduced their own bill in the Senate to ban bump stocks that would prohibit “the sale, transfer, importation, manufacture or possession of bump stocks, trigger cranks and similar accessories that accelerate a semi-automatic rifle’s rate of fire,” according to a press release.

The ATF declared in 2010 that bump stocks were not subject to regulation.

Many Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), have advocated for a regulatory fix to bump stocks rather than pushing for bans through new gun legislation.

-Updated 6:32 p.m.