Attorney General Bonta: Bump Stocks are Lethal and Should Be Banned

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a statement on the recent Supreme Court decision in Garland v. Cargill, which struck down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) federal regulation that bans bump-stock devices and classifies them as prohibited machine guns under the National Firearms Act.

“60 people were killed and 500 wounded at a music festival in Las Vegas where the shooter used semi-automatic rifles equipped with bump-stock devices,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This should not be allowed. It is time for Congress to act quickly. Bump stocks make semiautomatic weapons as dangerous as the fully automatic weapons that cause mass casualties, put our communities in danger and have lethal consequences. The evidence is clear. The federal government has long regulated lethal weapons, and federal laws that apply on a nationwide basis serve as an important complement to state firearms laws that protect our residents and communities from gun violence. Bump stocks still remain illegal in California but a federal law banning bump stocks would be consistent with a longstanding effort to keep deadly weapons off the streets and out of our state.”