PA Bill Number: HB1661
Title: Further providing for schedules of controlled substances; and providing for secure storage of xylazine.
Description: Further providing for schedules of controlled substances; and providing for secure storage of xylazine. ...
Last Action: Act No. 17 of 2024
Last Action Date: May 15, 2024
Gov. Wolf calls for statewide ban of 'bump stocks,' gun device tied to Las Vegas massacre :: 10/10/2017
Gov. Tom Wolf seized on a small opening in the gun control debate Tuesday morning to urge the Pennsylvania Legislature to swiftly pass a bill outlawing civilian use or ownership of "bump stocks."
A bump stock is a device that, when attached to a semiautomatic weapon, allows it to mimic the much faster firing rate of a fully automatic one.
Twelve of the firearms Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock had with him in his high-rise hotel suite Oct. 1 were equipped with the accessories, and evidence suggests he used them to rain bullets on the crowd at a music festival that night.
Paddock killed 58 in the attack; hundreds of others were wounded.
NRA, Republicans support a ban on bump stocks
Wolf, an avowed supporter of certain gun control measures, said he was responding to separate bump stock ban proposals from two Democrats in the state House and one Republican senator in recent days.
"Bipartisan legislators are rightfully sounding the alarm that these devices should not be legal in Pennsylvania," Wolf said in a statement.
"The massacre in Las Vegas was made worse by the shooter's ability to fire his military-grade weapons more rapidly at concertgoers and police. We can take a common sense step to protect citizens and law enforcement by banning these unnecessary and dangerous accessories."
The Las Vegas shootings have created a moment for possible action, with Republican lawmakers both in Washington and Harrisburg saying they are open to debate about the conversion devices, which area retailers have noted have traditionally been a low-demand item with their customers.
Even the National Rifle Association, which has consistently opposed any gun controls for many years, issued a statement last week calling on the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to "immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law.
"The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semiautomatic rifles to function like fully automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations," the statement continued.
At present, ATF has said bump stocks do not violate federal laws that sharply limit the manufacture or possession of fully automatic weapons, where the gun fires repeatedly with a single trigger pull.
That's a notable shift for the NRA, thought the organization has stopped short of throwing support behind a statutory ban.
After past mass shootings in America, advocates for gun ownership rights have ultimately warded off new gun control measures, instead turning the focus to improving the mental health safety net or advocating for measures to strengthen defenses against future attacks.
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/10/gov_tom_wolf_adds_his_support.html
