'Bump-Fire Stocks' Should Be Banned In NY After Las Vegas Shooting: Lawmakers

ALBANY, NY — A Manhattan state senator wants to make the gun accessories that might have been used in Sunday's Las Vegas massacre completely illegal in New York. State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Greenwich Village) proposed a bill Thursday that would make it a felony to own, sell or transport devices like so-called bump-fire stocks, which turn semi-automatic rifles into fully automatic machine guns.

State law makes it illegal to use the devices, but they're still technically legal to own and sell, Hoylman said. Stephen Paddock, the man who gunned down 59 people from his hotel room during a Las Vegas music festival on Sunday, had two bump-fire stocks in addition to the 23 guns in the room, the Associated Press reported.

The accessories, which sell for as little as $99, allow a gun's recoil to push the shooter's finger into the trigger repeatedly, mimicking automatic gun fire.

Also See: White House Welcomes Discussion On Bump Stocks

"As we continue to make sense of Sunday’s tragic events, one thing is clear: the gunman’s use of bump-fire stocks made a horrific situation exponentially more deadly," Hoylman said in a statement. "Accessories that accelerate the firing rate of a semiautomatic weapon are nothing less than instruments of death."

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The devices already violate state law when attached to legal weapons both because they effectively turn them into machine guns, which are illegal, Amy Spitalnick, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, told Patch in an email. State law also bans any weapon "simulating" a machine gun.

Hoylman's bill would make devices like bump-fire stocks inherently illegal whether attached to a weapon or not. It would also outlaw selling and shipping them in New York, Hoylman's office says.

The bill, also sponsored by Sen. John Brooks (D-Long Island), comes as Congress considers banning the accessories with potential support from Republican leaders, according to The New York Times. The pro-gun National Rifle Association said Thursday that devices that mimic automatic weapon fire "should be subject to additional regulations," calling for federal officials to review their legality.

Hoylman called for federal officials to pass gun-control legislation in the deadly shooting's wake. Top Republican senators, including John Cornyn of Texas and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said Thursday that they want congressional hearings about a possible bump-fire stock ban, according to the AP.

(Lead image via Allen Breed/Associated Press)