Las Vegas, Nev. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) cosponsored a bill, the Automatic Gun Fire Prevention Act, led by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) to ban devices used to modify semi-automatic weapons so that they fire at the rate of an automatic weapon. This includes banning the use and sale of the “bump stock” device which converts semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons. Under federal law, it is illegal to buy fully automatic firearms without a special permit and extensive background check, but a loophole exists in the law that allows “bump stocks” to be legally sold and purchased. This legislation will close this loophole, banning “bump stocks” from being bought and sold in the United States.
“As our community continues to support one another and provide comfort to hundreds injured and the families of those murdered, I want the people of Las Vegas, and the Great State of Nevada, to know I am going to be a strong voice for common sense gun legislation in the United States Senate. Today, I am working with Senator Diane Feinstein and my colleagues in co-sponsoring legislation to end the ‘bump stocks’ loophole.
“While I understand that all of the facts are still being gathered from the tragic events on Sunday night, it is increasingly clear that this loophole allowed a single person to kill and injure hundreds of innocent people and threaten over 22,000 concert goers. It is the responsibility of Congress to protect the public safety of the American people and work in good faith to prevent the deaths of innocent Americans where it can be prevented. And it can. There is no reason for anyone to own a gun accessory that turns a semi-automatic weapon into a machine gun.
“When I return to Washington, I will continue to be a strong voice in the United States Senate for common sense public safety legislation like background checks, and bills to prevent the mentally ill and terrorists from buying guns. This bill cannot fix the scars of Sunday night, but it can and must be a starting point to stop future ones from ever being inflicted.”
BACKGROUND:
In addition to Senators Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Feinstein (D-Calif.), cosponsors include Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bill Nelson (D-Florida), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).