Bipartisan group of lawmakers introduce bill to ban bump stocks
Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) says this would be the most explicit ban on bump stocks and similar devices.
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Another mass shooting in America is being met with more calls for legislation to try to stop and prevent them from happening in the future.
On Monday night, a man shot eight students at Michigan State University, killing three of them before himself. The incident is now among the dozens of mass shootings the country has already seen in 2023.
The shooting raises the same question that has plagued Washington for decades; how can mass shootings be stopped or prevented?
When President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address last week, he demanded Congress take action.
“Ban assault weapons now! Ban them now,” shouted Biden.
As expected, it received mixed reaction.
“I was so glad to hear him say it,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.
“I don’t support that,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.
But Democrats do have some Republican support for a ban on bump stocks, which help semiautomatic weapons shoot bullets faster.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., have joined Titus in re-introducing the bill.
Titus first brought it up in 2021.
“There’s no reason to have that on our streets,” Titus said.
Titus’ passion comes from the mass shooting in 2017 that took place in her Las Vegas district. The shooter used a bump stock to fire more than a thousand shots, killing 60 people, and wounding north of 400 others at an outdoor concert, making it the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
“The hospitals looked like war zones,” said Titus.
After the shooting, a nationwide ban on bump stocks was put in place by President Donald Trump. Anyone found to have had one could be charged with a federal crime and given 10 years in prison if convicted. But last month, a federal judge said the rule was unconstitutional. The ruling is part of why Congresswoman Titus is putting forth her bill again.
“I’m not sure you’re gonna find much agreement on taking away Second Amendment rights,” said Biggs.
Biggs believes mass shootings can be deterred in the future is to get rid of so-called “gun-free zones.”
“Why do you think that the president of the United States travels with people who are heavily armed? It’s because people, bad guys, they know that there’s a risk to themselves,” Biggs said.
Titus said her bill is the most explicit ban on bump stocks and similar devices. But first, it must get out of committee.
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