Washington, D.C. - This Friday marks the 4 year anniversary of the 1 October massacre in which 60 people were killed and hundreds more injured in Nevada’s First Congressional District. This tragedy remains the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Today ahead of the anniversary, Rep. Dina Titus, a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, along with Rep. Dan Kildee, Chief Deputy Whip of the Democratic Caucus, introduced the Closing The Bump Stock Loophole Act renewing a concerted effort to ban these dangerous devices.

“As we mark four years since the tragic events of 1 October, my thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured and with the professionals who cared for them. It’s time to make our country safer for all of us and for future generations by answering the nation's call for action on gun violence prevention,” said Congresswoman Titus. “Machine guns have been illegal in the U.S. for decades. Yet bump stocks have allowed gun manufacturers to circumnavigate the law to produce fully automatic weapons like the ones used on 1 October. Closing The Bump Stock Loophole Act builds on proven existing law by requiring bump stocks to be registered under the National Firearms Act, subjecting these dangerous devices to the strictest of regulation. Congressional action is critically needed to address this epidemic of gun violence. On behalf of the families of those lost and the survivors of the 1 October massacre, Pulse nightclub, El Paso, Newtown, Parkland, and countless other incidents of gun violence that occur every day in communities across the country, we must take real, commonsense action to prevent future tragedies and make our communities safer.”

“The fourth anniversary of the worst mass shooting in modern American history is a terrible reminder of the toll that gun violence takes on communities even long after physical wounds have healed,” said Kris Brown, President of Brady. “Rep. Titus’s bill is a common-sense solution to prevent future tragedies such as the 1 October shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in 2018. Bump stocks are designed to increase a firearm’s lethality; we need this bill to properly regulate these accessories and ensure they are not sold and used indiscriminately or irresponsibly. Brady thanks Rep. Titus for championing this important policy and urges Congress to pass it at once,” 

"Four years ago, we witnessed the deadliest mass shooting in our country's history and the horrifically destructive power of bump stocks that were behind it. Despite ATF's efforts to rightfully regulate these devices as machineguns, federal courts have unfortunately prevented the ATF's rule banning bump stocks to fully take effect,” said Adzi Vokhiwa, Federal Affairs Director for Giffords. “It is past time for Congress to take action and regulate bump stocks once and for all. We thank Representative Titus for introducing the Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act to regulate bump stocks and other devices that increase a firearm's rate of fire. This bill will go a long way in making sure that we never experience a tragedy like the one in Las Vegas again." 

BACKGROUND: Closing The Bump Stock Loophole Act would regulate bump stocks and limit the ability for the industry to loophole their way around it:

• This bill would regulate bump stocks like machine guns, meaning that they must be registered with ATF under the National Firearms Act, and it would generally be illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess new bump stocks for civilian use.  However, bump stocks that are already in existence would not have to be destroyed, but would have to be registered with ATF within one year of the bill’s enactment.
• The industry would not be able to design around this law, since it covers not just devices that are accessories sold separately from firearms, but also parts and modifications that accomplish the same goal in the same manner as a bump stock - increasing the rate of firearm by eliminating the need for each single function of the trigger. This language is the most explicit description of these devices that exists. 
• Additionally, this bill would allow people the opportunity to register bump stocks they currently own with ATF.