A group of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers at a vigil to remember victim’s of last week’s shooting.
Credit: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
The governor has spoken out in support of legislation that would ban the ‘bump stock’ accessory from firearms in the state.
Gov. Tom Wolf’s support of proposals to ban the device designed to increase the rate of gunfire but does not make the weapon an automatic. So far, State Reps. Madeleine Dean and Dom Costa, both Democrats, and Republican Sen. Pat Browne have talked about proposing banning the device that entered the national conversation after the mass killing last week in Las Vegas.
“Bipartisan legislators are rightfully sounding the alarm that these devices should not be legal in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said in a statement. “Given the bipartisan nature, this should be common sense for the General Assembly to swiftly pass to protect Pennsylvanians.”
Authorities said the “bump stock” was used by shooter Stephen Paddock to fire hundreds of rounds per minute during the Las Vegas music festival, authorities have said, according to a Reuters report.
The National Rifle Association has issued a statement is support of regulations on bump stocks.
The governor’s office notes that “offensive weapons” are banned under the Pennsylvania crimes code. The law bans items like machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and grenades. However, “bump stocks” are not outlawed in the state.
Dean and Costa’s proposal also would ban binary triggers and “multiburst trigger activators.” Costa served as a police officer for 28 years and previously led the Pittsburgh police department.
Legislation banning “bump stocks” also have been gaining some traction in Washington D.C.
