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US Justice Department to ban rapid-fire ‘bump stocks’ used by Las Vegas shooter

Bump stocks allow rifles to imitate the fire of fully automatic weapons: Getty
Bump stocks allow rifles to imitate the fire of fully automatic weapons: Getty

The Justice Department announced it would move to prohibit a device, used in America’s worst mass shooting, that enables guns to fire more rapidly.

“After the senseless attack in Las Vegas, this proposed rule is a critical step in our effort to reduce the threat of gun violence”, Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Bump fire stocks, also known as bump stocks, have come under intense scrutiny after authorities revealed that Stephen Paddock was equipped with a dozen of devices when he opened fire on a concert in Las Vegas, killing 59 people and injuring hundreds.

The attachments harness recoil to allow guns to fire more rapidly. Under the proposal announced by the Justice Department, bump stocks would be categorised as illegal machine guns.

After early momentum to ban bump stocks in Congress fizzled, with the National Rifle Association and Republicans saying the matter should be left to federal regulators, the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) announced it was reviewing whether it had the legal authority to ban their sale.

In February, days after a school shooting in Parkland, Florida killed 17 people, Mr Trump signed a directive pushing the Department of Justice to bar bump stocks.

“We must do more to protect our children. We have to do more to protect our children”, Mr Trump said during a White House event with shooting survivors and family members of victims.

The President marked the Justice Department’s latest announcement with a tweet slamming Barack Obama’s administration for having “legalised bump stocks”, echoing arguments made by the National Rifle Association and his surrogates.

Under the Obama administration, the ATF concluded that bump stocks were not subject to federal regulations in approving firearms companies’ requests to sell the products.