Bump Stocks Now Illegal To Own
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- They were designed to turn a semi-automatic rifle into a machine gun-like rapid fire action. With a single pull of the trigger you could fire off a rapid volley of shots.
"It had a thing where it all moved together, so it moved your hand to do this," Frontiersman Gun Shop owner Corey Krause said.
But Krause says bump stocks were never a hot seller in his store. Adding that they were amusing to those who wanted excitement on the range but served no useful purpose with sporting gun owners.
"We quit carrying them about three years ago because they sat on shelves and got dusty. So we clearanced them out of here and haven't had them ever since," Krause said.
But in the wrong hands, bump stocks became horribly lethal and eventually, shocked a nation.
After the carnage at a Las Vegas outdoor music concert -- when a man killed 58 people -- the U. S. Department of Justice took action upon the urging of President Donald Trump.
The department redefined the intent of the Gun Control Act and made bump stocks illegal since they constitute a machine gun.
"I think there will be a lot of compliance because legal gun owners obey the law," Stock and Barrel Gun Club manager Randy Ferris said.
Beginning Tuesday, owners of bump stocks must either turn them in to police or the local Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) field office or have them destroyed.
Ferris says bump stock owners have a clear choice.
"Either cut it up, shred it or melt it. And if you don't have the tools for that, then get it down to a local ATF field office," Ferris said.
Unlike other past gun buyback programs, no compensation will be given. The stocks initially sold for around $150.
Instead, their removal should bring peace of mind knowing such a lethal and indiscriminate device is now off the streets.
In addition to turning them over to an ATF field office, owners can also bring them to their local police or county sheriff.