Washington — The Trump administration on Tuesday issued a long-awaited regulation banning “bump stocks,” devices that allows semi-automatic rifles to shoot like a machine gun.
Connecticut banned the sale, possession or manufacture of bump stocks as of Oct. 1. Now the owners of bump stocks in the state will also face federal prosecution if they possess the devices.
The new federal regulation, signed by acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Tuesday, gives gun owners until late March to turn in or destroy the devices. After that, it will be illegal to possess them under the same federal laws that prohibit machine guns.
Bump stocks became the focus of debate after they were used during the massacre in Las Vegas in October of 2017, where a gunman opened fire on a crowd at a country music concert, killing 58 and injuring hundreds more.
Gun control advocates hailed the Trump administration move, but some said it took too long.
The new regulations reverse a 2010 ATF decision by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that found bump stocks are not like machine guns and could not be regulated unless Congress acted to regulate or ban them.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., was among several Democrats who said legislation is still needed.
He also said it’s important for Congress to ban bump stocks to make it “crystal clear” the government has the authority to ban the devices.
Another reason Democrats said legislation is still needed is that Gun Owners of America, a fierce defender of gun rights, said Tuesday it would sue to block the legislation.