Massachusetts Orders Residents to Surrender Bump Stocks

bump stock
AWR Hawkins

The state of Massachusetts is ordering residents to surrender any bump stocks in their possession, making clear that even keeping such an accessory at home is prohibited.

Massachusetts’ bump stock ban is a response to the October 1, 2017, Las Vegas shooting, wherein the devices were criminally to inflict harm. No bump stock crimes in the state of Massachusetts have been cited.

Moreover, the Massachusetts’ bump stock ban also bans trigger cranks, although trigger cranks were not even used in the Las Vegas attack.

The ban is based on language in a new spending bill containing sections directly referencing bump stocks and trigger cranks.

The bill defines a bump stock as “any device for a weapon that increases the rate of fire achievable with such weapon by using energy from the recoil of the weapon to generate a reciprocating action that facilitates repeated activation of the trigger.” It defines a trigger crank as “any device to be attached to a weapon that repeatedly activates the trigger of the weapon through the use of a lever or other part that is turned in a circular motion; provided, however, that ‘trigger crank’ shall not include any weapon initially designed and manufactured to fire through the use of a crank or lever.”

Guns.com obtained a letter being sent by the Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which says, in part:

Effective 90 days from the enactment of the bill—February 1, 2018—the new law will also prohibit possession of bump stocks or trigger cranks, including possession in a private home. There are no exceptions to this prohibition for licensed firearm owners: an FID card, a License to Carry, or even a license to possess a machine gun will not authorize possession of a bump stock or a trigger crank.

Because the law does not allow for transfer or sale of these prohibited items, if you currently possess a bump stock or trigger crank within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you should contact your local police department or the Massachusetts State Police to get details about how to transfer custody of the prohibited item to the police for destruction. Retention of such a prohibited item beyond the 90 day grace period will expose the owner to criminal prosecution.

Breitbart News reported that Democrats were emboldened to pursue state-level gun control after the NRA retreated from the bump stock fight. And Republicans who once feared the political ramifications of bucking the NRA now see a bump stock legislation as a way they can pursue gun control without political fallout.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkinsa weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange

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