Senate Democrats on Tuesday will try to pass legislation that would restore a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, an accessory that enables semi-automatic weapons to shoot at a very rapid pace, after last week’s Supreme Court decision striking down the ban.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday he’d bring up the legislation for a vote under unanimous consent, a procedure in which a measure passes so long as no lawmaker objects. He confirmed in a Senate floor speech Tuesday that Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, would seek passage of his bill banning bump stocks later in the afternoon.
“What today’s bill does is return things to the status quo set by Donald Trump, saying bump stocks are dangerous and should be prohibited,” Schumer said.
Heinrich said Tuesday there’s “no legitimate use for a bump stock.”
“There’s no law enforcement application for a bump stock. There’s no military application for a bump stock. There’s no self-defense application for a bump stock. These things are, like, tailor-made for mass shootings,” he said.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, called the bump stock ban “common sense” and urged Republicans to support it. He said Senate Republicans supported banning bump stocks when the Trump administration sought to outlaw the devices and criticized those who have come out against it today.
