WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump is expected to announce a long anticipated ban on firearm bump stocks.
- Bump stock is device that fire rounds from semi-automatic weapons
- It's a third-degree felony to possess a bump stock in Florida
That is according to reporting by CNN.
Trump first vowed to approve a ban shortly after the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas where gunman Stephen Paddock used a bump stock in his attack that killed 58 people.
The bump stock is a device that makes it easier to fire rounds from a semi-automatic weapon.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms under the Obama administration ruled that bump stocks were accessories and therefore the agency did not have jurisdiction to ban them by agency rules.
"Bump stocks turn semiautomatic guns into illegal machine guns," a current senior Justice Department official told CNN Wednesday. "This final rule sends a clear message: Illegal guns have no place in a law-and-order society, and we will continue to vigorously enforce the law to keep these illegal weapons off the street."
Sources told CNN the new rule would require bump stockowners to destroy or surrender their devices within 90 days.
It is currently a third-degree felony to possess a bump stock in the State of Florida. The accessory was outlawed in response to the February 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 14 students and three teachers were killed by a gunman.
The National Rifle Association is among the groups opposed to the ban.
Members of Congress have cautioned that an administrative rule banning bump stocks, as opposed to legislation, could likely lead to lawsuits being filed to block the ban.