During the October 8 airing of Face the Nation, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) admitted that no law would have stopped the Las Vegas attacker, then proceeded to push for a law to ban bump stocks.
Host John Dickerson introduced the topic of the Vegas attacker, then asked, “Could there have been any law passed that would have stopped him?”
Feinstein responded, “No, [the attacker] passed background checks, registering for handguns and other weapons on multiple occasions.” She then promoted a bill she authored this week, creating a law to ban bump stocks and said she already has 38 co-sponsors for it.
When Dickerson mentioned that the NRA is pushing for the ATF to review its 2010 approval of bump stocks—a review which could result in new regulations—Feinstein said, “I thought that was as step forward, and it’s appreciated, [but] regulations aren’t going to do it. We need a law.”
Again, Feinstein said no law could have stopped the Vegas attacker but “we need a law” against bump stocks.
She made another convoluted statement when asked if her legislation to ban bump stocks also bans semiautomatic firearms. Feinstein said her legislation does not ban semiautomatic firearms; that it is “written in clean English” and she will send a copy to anyone who calls her office so they can see for themselves.
Dickerson then said, “From the other side, those who would like to restrict guns in America, who hear a bill targeted … narrowly at bump fire stocks say, ‘The only way to stop this kind of situation in America is to ban these kinds of semiautomatic weapons and weapons that can fire with rapidity, and anything short of that is insufficient.’ What do you say to those people?”
Feinstein answered, “I agree with them, to a great extent.”
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.