As Vasquez reasoned, the invention did not technically alter a gun’s trigger mechanism, as earlier attempts had, with springs, hydraulics or electric current. So it did not infringe on a law that bans the sale of machine guns manufactured after 1986 and restricts the sale of those made before then. These devices can be used to make semi-automatic weapons perform like machine guns. Bump stocks would have been banned under legislation Feinstein introduced after the 2012 shooting of elementary students in Newtown, Conn. That effort collapsed. Two attorneys for the most prominent bump stock manufacturer, Slide Fire, which received the favorable 2010 ATF decision, also declined to comment.

Source: Washington Post October 04, 2017 23:41 UTC