Gun Rights Groups Break with NRA: Bump Stock Control Is Gun Control

Ohio’s Buckeye Firearms Association is breaking with the NRA on bump stocks, claiming attempts to secure legislation or regulation on the accessories is “just more noise” that results in gun control rather than criminal control.

Democrats are pushing gun controls for bump stocks in Congress while the NRA is asking the ATF to consider whether additional controls ought to be added in the form of regulations.

Breitbart News reported that that bump stocks are accessories that were approved by Barack Obama’s ATF in 2010. They were approved because they do not convert a semiautomatic firearm into an automatic one; rather, they allow a semiautomatic gun owner to mimic an automatic for a few short bursts.

According Fox 45, Buckeye Firearms’ Joe Eaton explained, “With a bump stock or a slide fire you hold your finger still and you move the rifle back and forth to fire it. So it really is the same thing each press of the trigger results in one bullet being fired, does not change any of the mechanics.”

He added, “Since they don’t change the function of the firearm it is still a semi-automatic, one bullet with one press of the trigger, there would be no reason to have them outlawed.”

On October 5 Breitbart News reported an NRA statement in which the organization said, “Devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.” But Eaton took a different stance, indicating the accessories “were thoroughly reviewed by the ATF” and saying that he does not see the ATF changing their initial position.

He observed, “The fact that … [the Vegas attacker] chose a semi-automatic rifle and he happened to choose another accessory for it again, unfortunately is just more noise in the talk about what needs to be the talk in why is there this much violence out there.”

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohioans for Concealed Carry are breaking with NRA’s push for re-evaluation of bump stocks too.

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.