GIFFORDS applauds Michigan Senate for adopting lifesaving legislation to ban ghost guns and bump stocks
Legislation Would Ban Sale, Manufacture, and Transfer of Ghost Guns
LANSING, Mich. — GIFFORDS, the national gun violence prevention organization led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released the following statement applauding Michigan Senate lawmakers for adopting lifesaving gun safety legislation to crack down on bump stocks and unregulated and untraceable ghost guns. Most importantly, these bills would stop the sale, manufacture and transfer of ghost guns, require serial numbers for existing weapons, regulate 3D printing of firearms to cut the flow of dangerous, unregulated guns and prevent people from converting semiautomatic firearms into machine guns in a matter of minutes. The Michigan House is set to take up the legislation next week.
“Lawmakers in the Michigan Senate showed true courage today by passing lifesaving legislation to help break the devastating cycle of gun violence,” said Sean Holihan, GIFFORDS State Legislative Director. “Last night’s vote marks meaningful progress in keeping deadly, untraceable weapons off of the streets and prioritizing public safety. The work is not over. It’s now up to the Michigan House to do the right thing, follow through, and get this across the finish line.”
Ghost guns are untraceable, due to a lack of a serial number, and are designed to avoid background checks. Prior to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) rule to curb the use of untraceable ghost guns, crimes with ghost guns were surging. Recent action from ATF and some states to address the rising crisis of ghost guns has caused a decline in their presence at crime scenes.
Bump stocks dramatically increase the rate at which a semiautomatic rifle can fire, approaching the rate of a fully automatic gun. They allow a shooter to fire many more rounds, but much less accurately. Rifles equipped with bump stocks were used in the shooting on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, where the shooter fired more than 1,000 rounds in 11 minutes—killing 60 people. After the shooting, ATF issued a rule categorizing bump stocks as machine guns under the federal Gun Control Act and National Firearms Act. Civilian ownership of newly-manufactured machine guns has been illegal since 1986.
In an average year, 1,382 people die and 2,437 are wounded by guns in Michigan. Guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in Michigan: An average of 103 children and teens die by guns every year, of which 31% are suicides and 64% are homicides.
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GIFFORDS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives from gun violence. Led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, GIFFORDS shifts culture, changes policies, and challenges injustice, inspiring Americans across the country to fight gun violence.
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