REPORT: As Bump Stocks Remain Legal One Year After the Las Vegas Shooting, Giffords Unveils a New Report Detailing 9 Lethal Firearms & Accessories Gun Manufacturers Put on the Market
Report analyzes attempts by gun manufacturers to sell extremely lethal firearms and devices, like bump stocks, by skirting federal rules to keep us safe
September 28, 2018 — One year after a gunman in Las Vegas armed with assault weapons and bump stocks caused the deadliest mass shooting in American history, Giffords released a new report detailing how extremely lethal firearms and devices like bump stocks are being sold in such a way that they skirt federal laws designed to keep us safe. The updated analysis, Legal & Lethal: 9 Products That Could Be the Next Bump Stock , highlights numerous examples of legal firearms and accessories currently on the market due to legislative and technological loopholes exploited by the gun lobby. Since the Las Vegas massacre, federal leaders have expressed their outrage, but to this day many lethal firearms and devices, like bump stocks, remain legal and continue to be marketed by gun manufacturers.
Because these weapons are not subject to additional regulation and oversight under the National Firearms Act (NFA)—which includes a mandatory background check—they can easily end up in the hands of criminals and endanger the public. Using this report as guidance, Giffords calls on Congress to update the federal gun laws so these accessories cannot turn a firearm into a military-style weapon.
Click here to view the report.
“The Las Vegas shooting was the first time most Americans had ever heard of a bump stock,” said David Chipman, former ATF Special Agent. “After their easy availability and lethality were known, many communities across the country moved to outlaw these deadly devices. Despite the progress on the state level to remove bump stocks from the market, the gun lobby and gun manufacturers continue to find loopholes to maximize the lethality of guns so that they may function in ways that skirt the regulations of the National Firearms Act. This is putting profit over public safety. It’s time for Congress to step up and stop the proliferation of these firearms and accessories. It will take courage, but we hope our leaders prioritize the safety of the American people over donations from the corporate gun industry.”
The National Firearms Act was enacted in 1934 and served as the first federal regulation on the manufacture, transfer, and possession of firearms. The NFA established a background check process that includes the submission of a photo identification and fingerprints, registration of the firearm with the ATF, and payment of a $200 transfer tax. As of 2018, 5.5 million NFA firearms were registered with the ATF.
Since the adoption of the NFA, the gun industry has been aggressively developing new weaponry through innovative and unconventional methods to avoid the law’s requirements. Accessories such as trigger cranks, high capacity shotguns, armor-piercing pistols, and large capacity magazines all manage to avoid classification as regulated NFA weapons, and as a result, are not subject to this additional regulatory oversight—including a background check.
Read the full report: Legal & Lethal: 9 Products That Could Be the Next Bump Stock
Related Resources:
- Release: In Big Swing, Supporters of a Proposed Rule to Ban Bump Stocks Overwhelmingly Outnumber Opponents in Submitting Comments to ATF [July 20, 2018]
- Memo: With General Elections Nearing, Americans Continue to Demand Toughter Gun Laws [August 22, 2018]
- Release: Giffords Releases Framework for Congress to Reduce Gun Violence in the Aftermath of the Las Vegas Shooting [October 5, 2017]
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