Newtown Based NSSF Calls For ATF Review Of Bump Stocks

NEWTOWN, CT — The National Shooting Sports Foundation and Sporting Arms and Sports Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute put out a joint statement urging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to review the use of bump stocks after the deadly Las Vegas mass shooting that left 58 dead and nearly 500 wounded.

"We call upon ATF to conduct a prompt review and evaluation of aftermarket trigger activation devices such as bump stocks to determine whether they are lawful to install and use on a firearm under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA), or whether, if they have no function or purpose other than to convert a conventional firearm into an automatic firearm, they are regulated items under the NFA," the organizations said in a statement.

NSSF is based a firearms industry trade association based in Newtown. The NRA recently released a statement that called for additional regulations for bump stocks.

The two organizations called for Congress to wait for an ATF review before passing legislation.

A dozen rifles found in the Las Vegas shooter's room were modified with a "bump stock," which can increase firing rate of a semiautomatic rifle to near automatic rifle speed. They are legal under federal law because the shooter's finger comes into contact with the trigger for each shot fired.

Image via Rick Bowmer/AP