Washington, D.C. – Today Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01), a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, announced she has filed a discharge petition to initiate the process of forcing a vote on her Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act.

“After my futile attempts urging Republican leadership to bring this legislation for a vote, this petition is the necessary next step to enacting a permanent, federal ban on bump stocks,” said Rep. Titus. “The act of gun violence in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017, became a renewed reality when the Supreme Court wrongfully gutted the federal bump stock ban that had been in place since 2019. I won’t stop fighting until we see these devices banned once and for all. These weapons do not belong on our streets.”

“Bump stocks drastically increase a weapon’s ability to kill. With the addition of a bump stock, semi-automatic weapons function like machineguns,” said Gun Violence Prevention Task Force Chair Mike Thompson. “The previous federal ban on bump stocks was put in place by a Republican administration and upheld by a Democratic one—because keeping our communities safe isn’t a partisan issue. Now that the Supreme Court has wrongfully struck down this commonsense protection, I’m urging my Republican colleagues to work with us to pass Rep. Titus’ Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act to ban these deadly devices for good.”

“Thank you to Rep. Titus for standing up for Nevada families and gun violence survivors across the country. The American people are demanding that our elected officials do everything they can to make our country safer and I’m glad to see Rep. Titus heed this call and act,” said Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (Nevada State Assembly District 41), who survived the October 1 shooting and championed the bump stock ban at the state level in Nevada.

“With the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Garland v. Cargill, bump stocks – accessories that turn semi-automatic weapons into the functional equivalent of machineguns – are now back in civilian hands. This was a devastating decision for communities across America. Brady applauds Rep. Dina Titus’s discharge petition on the Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act and we implore all members of Congress to support the petition and bring it to a vote to protect the communities that they serve from gun violence,” said Mark Collins, Director of Federal Policy, Brady.

“Guns outfitted with bump stocks fire like machineguns and they kill like machineguns — and now that the Supreme Court has decided to put these deadly devices back on the market, Congress needs to take action. We applaud Congresswoman Titus and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force for championing this lifesaving legislation, which would prevent potential mass shooters from being able to wreak havoc with a single pull of the trigger,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety.

We commend Rep. Titus and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force for taking this step to expedite a vote to ban bump stocks. Bump stocks essentially turn semi-automatic guns into machineguns. With the Supreme Court's disastrous ruling to overturn the ATF ban on these dangerous devices, it is incumbent upon Congress to act now. We urge all members of Congress to support Rep. Titus’s bill and the petition to bring it before the House of Representatives for a vote. Lives are on the line,” said Emma Brown, GIFFORDS Executive Director

Background

On June 14, 2024, the Supreme Court overturned a years-long federal bump stock ban previously enacted by a Republican Administration, making these dangerous devices legal for civilian use in states that do not currently have state-level bans. Bump stocks affix to assault rifles and generate automatic fire similar to machineguns, allowing a shooter to fire at a rate of 400 to 800 rounds per minute. These devices were used to carry out the Route 91 Festival shooting in Las Vegas, NV, on October 1, 2017. This act of gun violence remains the deadliest mass shooting in our nation’s history, killing 58 individuals and injuring hundreds more in a matter of minutes.

Since this shooting, Rep. Titus has relentlessly advocated for a permanent ban on bump stock devices, particularly given the court challenges in recent years. This includes several letters to leadership calling for a vote on the legislation. Her bipartisan Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act bans bump stocks by treating them in the same way as machineguns under the National Firearms Act, making it generally illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess bump stocks and similar devices for civilian use. The bill is co-led with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI). The bill currently has the support of 181 cosponsors in the House. Companion legislation is led by Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM).

A discharge petition is a mechanism that forces a vote on legislation once a sufficient number of signatures from Members of the House of Representatives has been reached. Under parliamentary rules, once a discharge petition has 218 signatures, the sponsoring Member can force a vote on the legislation.

The Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act can be found HERE. It is supported by Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety, Brady: United Against Gun Violence, and the Newtown Action Alliance.

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