GOP Rep. Bill Flores Supports Gun Control via Bump Stock Ban

Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) is taking a stand for gun control by calling for a ban on bump stocks following Stephen Paddock’s use of the devices in the Las Vegas attack.

Although Paddock used the devices criminally, Flores says “typical gun owners” do not need them either.

According to the Hill, Flores said he did not know what a bump stock was until news of the Vegas attack informed him. After the attack he said, “I think they should be banned.” He said he does not know a reason why people need “to own anything that converts a semi-automatic to something that behaves like an automatic.” He added, “There’s no reason for it.”

Because Flores did not know bump stocks existed before the attack, perhaps he does not know that they are more for novelty than for accuracy. In fact, editor of the Daily Beast, Justin Miller, quoted U.S. Army Sergeant First Class special forces soldier Tony Cowden, who suggested the use of the bump stock made Paddock less accurate:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced legislation to ban bump stocks on Wednesday. That means Flores and a leading Senate Democrat are in agreement on gun control, with both thinking more is needed in the form of a ban on the ATF-approved bump stocks.

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.

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