“Bump stocks turn semiautomatic weapons into fully automatic weapons,” South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy pronounced on CBS Face the Nation [below]. “Fully automatic weapons are already illegal, so I am fine with doing away with any instrumentality that converts a semiautomatic to a fully automatic.” Wait. What?
Even our pro-gun politicians think that machine guns are illegal? They’re not.
Sure there’s a lot of paperwork involved in purchasing a machine gun. And yes, federal law “bars private individuals from transferring or acquiring machine guns except those lawfully possessed and registered before May 19, 1986.” Which makes them really expensive. But you can legally buy one.
And it’s also true that a bump fire stock does NOT convert a semi-automatic rifle (one shot per trigger squeeze) to fully automatic fire (one trigger press, multiple shots).
And while we’re examining the truth about guns, I don’t think Trey Gowdy is a particularly compelling pro-gun rights pol. But then who is? Seriously. Who?