Last month, the gun rights dystopia that is Massachusetts became the first state to ban bump fire stocks – complete with a potential life sentence for owning one. Now, South Carolina’s capital city, Columbia, has become the first city to enact a similar ban.
The City of Columbia passed an ordinance Tuesday that bans the use of bump stocks and trigger cranks.
Columbia’s ordinance, which was introduced at the Dec. 5 City Council meeting, makes it illegal to attach bump stocks or trigger cranks to any guns within the city, except by military or law enforcement personnel. It would still be legal to own those devices, so long as they are stored in separate containers from firearms.
Unlike the Bay State ban, Columbia’s prohibition doesn’t appear to outlaw simple possession of a bump fire stock, only their use. Mayor Steve Benjamin wasted no time in touting the city’s new law as a major step for gun safety.
“I believe in responsible gun ownership, and I believe in common sense,” Mayor Steve Benjamin said in a news release. “That’s why we’ve decided to do what our federal and state governments are either unable or unwilling to do and act by banning the use of bump stocks and trigger cranks in our city. This is not the first time we’ve taken the lead, but it may be the most important.”
Columbians can now sleep comfortably knowing that their elected representatives have finally done something about the seemingly intractable plague of bump fire-driven gun crime that has been sweeping the Palmetto State capital.