Las Vegas shooting: Republicans open to ban on 'bump-stocks' - BBC News
"Clearly that's something we need to look into," says House Speaker Paul Ryan of the rapid fire tool.
Congress' most powerful Republican says lawmakers should examine "bump-stocks", a rapid-fire accessory used by the gunman in Sunday's Las Vegas massacre.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan told a radio talk show: "Clearly that's something we need to look into."

Texas Senator John Cornyn - the number two Republican in the Senate - has called for hearings into the devices.

A bump-stock attaches to the butt of a rifle, allowing the weapon to fire close to the rate of a machine gun.

Stephen Paddock, the gunman in Las Vegas, had fixed the accessories to 12 rifles.

It appears a move to ban bump-stock devices is picking up steam in Congress. Some normally staunch gun-control opponents seem willing to consider new legislation. The NRA, which opposes just about any new regulations, has gone silent.

That's going to change soon.

The challenge for gun rights supporters is a bump-stock ban opens the door for a new debate about where to draw the line over limiting a firearm's lethality. For decades it's been at how many bullets can be fired with one trigger pull.

Bump-stocks blur that line. Can you outlaw a device that helps squeeze off rounds more quickly but not think about prohibiting quick-change magazines or limiting their sizes? Or banning pistol grips, which make firing easier?

It won't take many Republicans, with the NRA looking over their shoulder, to grind the process to a halt.

"I didn't even know what they were until this week," Mr Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, said on Thursday of bump-stocks.

He told talk show host Hugh Hewitt: "I think we're quickly coming up to speed with what this is."

For years Republicans in Congress, as well as conservative Democrats, have blocked gun control efforts in the wake of violent tragedies.

But now a liberal Democratic gun control measure appears to have found a receptive audience across the aisle.

Senator Cornyn said on Wednesday: "It strikes me as odd that it's illegal to convert a semi-automatic weapon to an automatic weapon, but apparently these bump-stocks are not illegal under the current law.

"I own a lot of guns. As a hunter and sportsman, I think that's our right as Americans.

"But I don't understand the use of this bump-stock."

He said his colleagues should hold hearings to discuss the legality of the devices.

Congressman Mark Meadows, who leads the hardline conservative Freedom Caucus, also said that he would be open to a hearing.

Since Congress passed the Firearm Owners' Protection Act in 1986, it has been relatively difficult for civilians to buy new, fully automatic weapons, which reload automatically and fire continuously as long as the trigger is pulled.

Bump-fire stocks, also called bump-stocks and slide-fire adapters, allow semi-automatic rifles to fire at a high rate, similar to a machine gun.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. After the Las Vegas attack in October 2017 the BBC looked at how US mass shootings are getting worse

But the accessories can be obtained without the extensive background checks required of automatic weapons.

They typically cost less than $200 (£150) and allow nearly 100 high-velocity bullets to be fired in just seven seconds, according to one company advert.

One of the most popular manufacturers of bump-stocks, Slide Fire, said they had sold out "due to extreme high demands" since the Las Vegas shooting.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Sen Dianne Feinstein This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

"I think they should be banned," Republican Texas congressman Bill Flores told The Hill newspaper, adding that he had never heard of bump-stocks before.

"There's no reason for a typical gun owner to own anything that converts a semi-automatic to something that behaves like an automatic," he said.

Democratic California congressman Mike Thompson, who chairs the congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, said Congress must address the "loophole".

"We don't know how many lives could have been spared in Las Vegas had the shooter not had bump-stocks," he said.