In Big Swing, Supporters of a Proposed Rule to Ban Bump Stocks Overwhelmingly Outnumber Opponents in Submitting Comments to ATF

July 20, 2018

After Giffords and other activists called on Americans to make a comment to the ATF about the agency’s proposed rule, supporters outweighed the opposition by a 3 to 1 margin

July 20, 2018 — Today, Giffords , the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Captain Mark Kelly, highlighted how the grassroots effort to encourage Americans to submit comments to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) on a proposal to ban bump stocks resulted in supporters of the ban overwhelming comments from opponents. Recent reporting by The Trace details how different the first two rounds of comments on the proposal to the ATF turned out. In the first period, only 13 percent expressed support for limiting access to bump stocks. But in the second, after Giffords and others called for action, supporters of a new rule to tighten oversight over bump stocks outnumbers opponents by a nearly three to one margin.

Statement from former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords

“America, you are showing that the power to make change is in your hands. For years, politicians backed by gun lobby money have said we simply can’t do anything but offer thoughts and prayers each time we’ve experienced a horrific shooting. That there is no legislation to stop evil. These same elected officials have failed in a basic responsibility to keep us safe – at concerts, in schools, in places of worship – anywhere we come together. But communities across our country stood up to say enough. “We’ve found courage and a voice. Today, Americans everywhere are ready to mobilize and take action to back efforts to address our gun violence crisis. This is another step in showing that our country can still solve big problems and stand up for gun safety. We’ll continue to make clear to Washington DC that the time has come to enact policies to save lives.”

On December 26, 2017, ATF took the first step toward reclassifying bump stock by issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to request information on the market for bump stocks, with a suggestion that it may one day define “machine gun” to include bump stocks. This was in response to Congressional failure to move forward with votes on multiple bills that were introduced after the tragedy in Las Vegas.

After the first round of feedback to ATF Giffords organized a way for supporters to take action and demand regulation of these dangerous devices. These efforts helped change the course of the comment period. The results reversed after the second round of feedback, with 73 percent of comments to ATF favoring regulation.

Sample Social Media from Giffords grassroots bump stocks campaign

The call for a bump stocks ban arose after a gunman opened fire from a hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel into the 22,000 person crowd at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, killing 58 people and injuring more than 500 on October 1, 2017. The gunman fired more than 1,100 rounds of ammunition in 11 minutes, using semi-automatic rifles modified with dangerous firearm accessories designed to dramatically accelerate the rate of gunfire, commonly known as “bump fire stocks.” These devices are intended to circumvent the restrictions on possession of fully automatic firearms in the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the National Firearms Act of 1934 by allowing an individual to modify a semiautomatic rifle in such a manner that it operates with a similar rate of fire as a fully automatic rifle, posing a substantial risk to public safety.

Eight in ten Americans, including 77% of Republicans, support banning these dangerous devices. Nearly three-fourths of voters in gun-owning households feel the same way. Broad bipartisan support to legislatively regulate or ban bump stocks is evident in state legislatures, law enforcement, and communities across the United States. While Congress has yet to take action, states across the country have taken meaningful and bipartisan action to ban bump stocks. Republican governors in both Massachusetts and New Jersey have signed bills into law, and legislatures in an additional 25 states have introduced versions of bump stocks bans.

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