The Trump administration finally moved Tuesday to officially ban bump stocks — an attachment for semi-automatic weapons that helped to fuel the horrific carnage in the Las Vegas mass shooting last year.
The deadly devices would be banned under existing federal law that heavily restricts ownership of fully automatic weapons, arguing they effectively turn semi-automatic weapons into their even-quicker-firing brethren.
“With limited exceptions, the Gun Control Act… makes it unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machine-gun unless it was lawfully possessed prior to the effective date of the statute,” according to the new rule announced by the White House.
“The bump-stock-type devices covered by this final rule were not in existence prior to the effective date of the statute, and therefore will be prohibited.”
Owners will have 90 days to turn in their bump stocks or destroy them.
The Justice Department said Tuesday that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will post instructions on its website.
The new rule had been expected for months.
A senior Justice Department official said the government believes there are tens of thousands of bump stocks in existence but did not have a firmer count.
A bump stock fits on the butt of a semi-automatic rifle and essentially uses the gun’s recoil energy to push it forward again after each shot — making it easier for gunmen to fire more bullets, more quickly.
Las Vegas gunman Stephan Paddock used the device to help fuel his killing rampage, as he rained down bullets on a country music concert going on across the street from his hotel room — killing 58 in the worst mass shooting in recent American history.
Paddock’s motive remains a mystery.