Second Amendment supporter and Tennessee resident destroys AR-15 bump stock, calls for it to be outlawed
Tyler Whetstone
TEN MILE – For the 14 months he served the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, Steven Straub carried an M-16, a powerful, fully-automatic weapon.
Wednesday morning, Straub, a native New Yorker with a thick accent and an arm full of tattoos, contacted USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, his heart heavy.
Three months ago Straub, 69, purchased an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, the civilian version of the M-16 he used in 1968-69, and it came with a "bump stock," a tool that allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire at a near fully-automatic pace.
After learning the Las Vegas gunman used a similar device on 12 guns to kill 59 people and injure over 500 more, Straub said it was time to destroy his bump stock, to literally saw it into pieces. And he'd do it in front of a reporter who could record it.
He said he hoped his actions would lead others to do the same.
"When I heard that last night on the news, it just turned my stomach … those poor cops crawling behind that wall and that guy having that kind of firepower just wasn't right, you know?
"When I was in Vietnam I heard AK-47s and that made me sick. And then this just about made me just as sick."
His email Wednesday said: "Because of this tragedy, I no longer believe it's cool to own this. I don't believe this system should be legal anymore. I paid a couple hundred dollars for it and would like my destruction of this device to be publicized; hoping others will do the same, and that laws will be passed (sic) to outlaw this system."
'It's overkill'
Straub and his wife, Jean, have lived in Tennessee along an inlet of Watts Bar Lake, south of another inlet named Pearl Harbor, for 10 months. The two love living on the water and being close to the mountains.
They came to Tennessee from Florida, by way of Connecticut, by way of Queens College in New York City where he worked as an engineer for 34 years.
He is a Republican, a Second Amendment advocate and said he owns five guns. He is a former member of the National Rifle Association and wore a NRA hat when he spoke to USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee.
He said everyone should have a gun to be able to protect themselves or to hunt or target-practice if they choose. He uses his guns, including his AR-15, for target practice and for hunting wild boar on a strip of land he leases near the Georgia line.
He purchased the AR-15 with the bump stock for a military reunion earlier this year.
"We had a ball shooting this thing," he said. "I bought it just for that party because we were going down there and were just blasting and blasting away; like 10 people shot it and they all got a kick out of it."
What is a bump stock?
The bump stock is a piece that replaces the normal stock of a gun, the portion that rests on the shooter's shoulder, with a stock that moves back and forth. They were originally created so people with disabilities could better shoot a gun.
According to the Associated Press, the stock covers the trigger opening. By holding the pistol grip with one hand and pushing forward on the barrel with the other, the shooter's finger comes in contact with the trigger. The recoil then causes the gun to buck back and forth, repeatedly "bumping" the trigger against the finger.
"What the bump stock allows you to do, rather than alter the gun like some people do illegally to shoot automatic, the bump moves the stock back and forth … that back-and-forth action is what's shooting the gun," Straub said.
Straub guessed he could shoot approximately 50 rounds of ammo in a minute with a normal AR-15. With a bump stock, he guessed it would be 300, maybe more.
In Vietnam he was taught to shoot rounds of three bursts because a shooter's accuracy becomes ineffective as the gun rises with every shot.
"I think the bump stock is overpower, it's overkill," he said. "What purpose do you need that for?
"I think everyone should chop them (bump stocks) up. That's why I called you guys, thinking that maybe it'll start a chain reaction against these things."
Demonstration of bump stock
To prove how lethal the bump stock attachment is, Straub agreed to shoot his AR-15 without the bump stock and then with it. He fired a 5.56 NATO round, the cheapest one he could find.
He put his shooting earmuffs on, pointed his rifle and fired towards his makeshift target away from his home, toward the bottom of a hill.
"I hope the neighbors don't get scared because it's right after the incident in Las Vegas," he said before firing.
Boom ... boom … boom … boom.
Straub paused, adjusted his gun and began firing with the bump stock.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Straub sort of staggered backwards as he shot it.
"Quite a difference, huh?" he said.