The Trump administration has banned the use and possession of bump stocks. This new regulation requires owners of bump stocks to either turn them into federal law enforcement or destroy them within 90 days after the ban is put into the Federal Register. Last summer, acting ATF Director Thomas Brandon, made a statement in a Senate hearing that a ban through executive regulation could lead to a court challenge that would inevitably delay the ban. Following this, Republican lawmakers pushed for the ban to go through the Justice Department and ATF, instead of through Congress. Additionally, since the federal ban on bump stocks is not legislated by Congress, the rule could be reversed by the Trump administration at a later date. Please click here to read the Justice Department’s ruling.
Currently, there is estimated to be more than 500,000 bump stock accessories currently owned by the public. Yet, there is no federal data base on who bought a bump stock, making enforcement of this regulation difficult. While this ban will certainly be an issue in the upcoming legislative session, several states already had bump stock bans in place. Those states are: California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. OGO expects lawsuits against the regulation to be filed before the end of the year.
