PA Bill Number: SB945
Title: Consolidating the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code; and making repeals.
Description: Consolidating the act of August 9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code; and making repeals. ...
Last Action: Third consideration and final passage (199-0)
Last Action Date: Apr 17, 2024
Pennsylvania state lawmakers join calls to ban bump stock :: 10/10/2017
state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, has proposed a bill to institute a Pennsylvania ban on bump stocks, a firearm attachment used to turn a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic. A man used a similar device in an Oct. 1 massacre in Las Vegas. (Morning Call file photo)
Some Pennsylvania state lawmakers are positioning bills to ban a firearm accessory that sped up the Las Vegas high-rise shooter’s ability to fire bullets from a semi-automatic weapon, killing 58 concertgoers and wounding more than 500 others.
On Friday, state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, sent a proposal asking senators to support a bill banning the sale, import, manufacture and possession of bump stocks in Pennsylvania. He wrote his proposal a day after two House Democrats offered bills in their chamber to ban the same device.
“Bump stocks are dangerous weapons and our laws should reflect that,” Browne said in an interview.
A bump stock is an attachment that replaces a standard rigid stock, the piece of a semi-automatic weapon that rests against the shoulder. The attachment turns the semi-automatic’s normal kickback into a back-and-forth sliding motion on the shoulder and trigger finger that allows more bullets to be shot than with a normal kickback motion. Although fully automatic weapons are illegal in the United States, the bump stock is not because it doesn’t alter the trigger.
Stephen Paddock used a bump stock when he strafed an outdoor concert from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel on Oct. 1, authorities say.
Since then, some members of Congress and the National Rifle Association have said it is worth reviewing bump stocks. Others in Congress and another firearms lobbying group oppose a bump stock ban.
Lehigh Valley area Congressmen Charlie Dent, R-15th District, and Matt Cartwright, D-17th District, said they support a federal bump stock ban. U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-11th District, which includes part of Carbon County, has not joined those supporting a ban bill, saying it’s “too early” to begin debate on gun legislation.
If Congress doesn’t act, Browne and state Reps. Madeline Dean, D-Montgomery, and Dom Costa, D-Allegheny, a retired police officer, want the Legislature and Gov. Tom Wolf to adopt a statewide ban. But a similar divide could occur in Harrisburg over the proposal.
In their memo to the House, Dean and Costa wrote: “The Pennsylvania crimes code currently bans ‘offensive weapons,’ which includes items such as machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and grenades. Violation of this section carries a penalty of a first-degree misdemeanor. This legislation would include ‘multi-burst trigger activators’ to the list of offensive weapons and includes items such as binary triggers and slide fire/bump stocks — like the one used in the Las Vegas shooting.”
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