President Trump Orders Ban on Bump Stocks, Device Used During Route 91 Shooting

On Tuesday (Feb. 20), President Donald Trump officially directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to create legislation banning bump stocks, the devices that allow a semi-automatic firearm to fire continuously, as a fully automatic weapon would. The perpetrator of the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass shooting used a bump stock to be able to fire on the country music festival crowd quicker.

"Just a few moments ago, I signed a memo directing the attorney general to propose regulations that ban all devices that turn legal weapons into machine guns," Trump shared at a Medal of Valor event (quote via CNN). "I expect these regulations to be finalized ... very soon."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders explained that, previously, Trump had ordered the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to review bump stocks. She added that Trump "doesn't support use of those accessories."

Following the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting on Oct. 1, which left 58 people dead and hundreds more injured, authorities found a number of bump stocks in the hotel room of the gunman, Stephen Paddock; in the following days, a number of victims filed suit against bump stock makers and retailers. Bump stock manufacturers, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence claims, told federal regulators that the device was being manufactured to help disabled gun owners, but marketed the device to those looking for the experience of firing a fully automatic weapon.

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, established in 2005, protects gun makers and dealers from liability in the case of a crime committed with a firearm; however the act's protections should not apply in the Route 91 victims' case because the bump stock manufacturers do not make guns or ammunition.

Remembering the Route 91 Harvest Festival Shooting Victims