Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts (BUMP) Act, legislation to prohibit the sale of bump stocks and other devices that allow semi-automatic firearms to increase their rate of fire and effectively operate as fully automatic weapons.
“My hometown was forever changed by the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival shooting,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “Bump stocks like the one used that night have no place on our streets, and I’m proud to join commonsense legislation to permanently ban these dangerous devices.”
On October 1, 2017, a bump stock was used to fire more than 1,000 bullets into a crowd in Las Vegas in just 10 minutes, killing 60 people. In response, under the Trump Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) initiated a ban on these lethal devices. This rule was enacted in 2019. But on January 6, 2023, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the ban – stating that it would require an ‘act of Congress’ to federally outlaw bump stocks and placing the Trump administration’s ban in danger of full repeal.
The BUMP Act would enshrine a ban on bump stocks into federal law. Senator Cortez Masto initially introduced this legislation in March of 2018, prior to the Trump Administration’s enactment of the ban on bump stocks. U.S. Representative Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01) has introduced companion legislation in the House.
The BUMP Act has been endorsed by numerous gun safety organizations, including Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady: United Against Gun Violence, March for Our Lives, Newtown Action Alliance, Violence Policy Center, March for Our Lives, March Fourth, Violence Policy Center, and New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence.
The full text of the bill is available here.
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