Justice Department moves to officially ban bump stocks, classifies them as ‘machine guns’

The Department of Justice on Saturday submitted regulation to formally ban the devices, which modify semi-automatic rifles to fire like a fully-automatic rifle. However, it reverses a 2010 decision by the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that found bump stocks did not fall under the National Firearm Act’s definition of a “machine gun” and therefore could only be regulated if Congress amended the NFAGCA’s definition of “machine gun.”. After the February 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people, President Donald Trump called for a ban on bump stocks even though the semi-automatic rifle used in that case was not fitted with the device. The move comes after President Trump signed an executive order that instructed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to regulate the devices, which help speed up the pace of gunfire and allow semi-automatic guns to fire at a rate that mimics a fully automatic firearm.
The U.S. Department of Justice submits a regulation to ban bump stocks, a modification to semi-automatic guns that allows the user to fire at a faster rate.