Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation Wednesday to close a loophole that allows for semi-automatic weapons to be cheaply modified so they can simulate the rapid-fire capacity of an automatic weapon. The device, known as a bump-stock, was used by the Las Vegas shooter to convert several of his semi-automatic firearms into essentially functioning like weapons of war. A statement issued about the bill’s introduction explained:
The bill, introduced today, would ban 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 to emulate fully-automatic fire. A dozen of these devices were found in the hotel room of the Las Vegas shooter.
The bill, called the Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act, has 24 co-sponsors, all Democrats. Not a single Republican. Why? Because the gun lobby has bought Republicans.
Gun rights groups overwhelmingly support GOP candidates, contributing $5.9 million into Republican campaigns in the 2016 election cycle, compared with $106,000 to those of Democrats.
Owning automatic weapons is not illegal in the U.S. but they are in short supply due to a 1986 law that banned future sales and manufacturing of them. For that reason, fully automatic firearms can cost tens of thousands of dollars to obtain, whereas a bump-stock device can be bought for as little as $100 and up.
from Daily Kos http://ift.tt/2xYXaU8
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