With lack of incentives, few Americans are giving up their bump stocks
Under New Jersey鈥檚 new bump-stock ban, which was approved in January, residents were supposed to destroy or turn in their bump stocks by mid-April.
So far, New Jersey State Police say, they have not received a single one.
Months after a man used a bump stock to quickly mow down 58 people in Las Vegas, seven states now prohibit the sale and possession of the devices, which enable semiautomatic rifles to fire at the rate of fully automatic fire. Bans of bump stocks in Hawaii and Connecticut are currently awaiting governors鈥� signatures, and lawmakers in Delaware and Rhode Island are expected to approve bans soon.
Even though proposed bump-stock bans have stalled in more than a dozen states, gun control advocates who want to rid the country of the accessory are celebrating their existing statehouse victories. They agree with gun owners and police, however, that enforcing the bans will be a challenge.
It鈥檚 hard to know for sure, but Americans could own as many as 520,000 bump stocks, according to estimates from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Many of the devices are untraceable, in part because they don鈥檛 have serial numbers.
New Jersey is not the only state having trouble enforcing its ban. In Massachusetts, where residents had until February to surrender their bump stocks, State Police received just three devices. The Bay State鈥檚 ban, which passed in November, is a felony.
The first reported violation of the bump-stock ban in Massachusetts occurred in March, when police arrested a couple after discovering an arsenal of weapons in their hotel room. The bump-stock charge was one of more than three dozen gun charges in that case.
Bump-stock bans in Florida, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington have been approved but have not yet gone into effect.
Connecticut鈥檚 ban has passed both houses of the state legislature and is awaiting the signature of Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy. Jeremy Stein, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, said he doesn鈥檛 expect the ban in his state to prompt a flood of bump-stock owners to turn in their devices.
鈥淯nless the police are getting search warrants to go house by house, there will probably be people who aren鈥檛 giving up their bump stocks,鈥� Mr. Stein said. 鈥淓nforcement will come into play when the police are investigating other crimes, like domestic violence or whatever, and they come across a bump stock. They can tack on another charge.鈥�
Connecticut State Police are preparing for residents to turn in their bump stocks, said Sgt. Alex Giannone of the Special Licensing and Firearms Unit. But Mr. Giannone is not expecting the state to receive many of the devices.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe this is a widely purchased and popular accessory,鈥� he said.
Still, when a person does surrender a bump stock, state police will dismantle the device, destroy it with a saw, and burn it in an incinerator, he said.
One of the main reasons why owners are not turning in their bump stocks to authorities is that there鈥檚 no financial incentive attached to many of these state bans, said Mark Pennak, the president of Maryland Shall Issue, a gun rights group that opposed Maryland鈥檚 recently passed bump-stock ban.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e basically telling people to destroy their property,鈥� Mr. Pennak said. 鈥淚f you take someone鈥檚 private property, you have to pay for it.鈥�
Pennak said the stiff penalties are unfair.
鈥淭hey bought them just because they鈥檙e fun to use, and that鈥檚 it,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e criminalizing a plastic item, and sending people to prison for three years for it.鈥�
The federal government estimates that Americans have spent $96.2 million on bump stocks between 2011 and 2017. These devices can cost from $180 to $425 each.
Maryland鈥檚 ban, which goes into effect in October 2019, does not include a buy-back program. But the one in Washington State does: A section of the new law calls on the Washington State Patrol to establish a year-long buy-back program starting in July, where residents can turn in bump stocks and receive $150.
Delaware鈥檚 proposed bump-stock ban, which has passed the state House and is being considered by the Senate, would include $15,000 toward a buy-back program.
Another concern for some gun rights activists is that the state bans do not give enough notice to residents that possessing a bump stock is, in most cases, a felony.
Hawaii鈥檚 bump-stock ban, which awaits the signature of Democratic Gov. David Ige would go into effect immediately and carry a five-year, $10,000 fine upon a conviction. The language of the bill, however, does not include a grace period or any instruction for how residents can dispose of their devices. This sort of vagueness concerns Harvey Gerwig, president of the Hawaii Rifle Association, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association.
鈥淣obody knows how to implement this stuff,鈥� Mr. Gerwig said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing in the bill that says what will happen.鈥�
Gerwig said he fears that gun owners who don鈥檛 closely follow state policy changes and therefore aren鈥檛 aware of the ban might be charged with a felony if they are caught using or even possessing the devices.
Vermont鈥檚 bump-stock ban does instruct the Department of Public Safety to 鈥渄evelop, promote, and execute a collection process that permits persons to voluntarily and anonymously relinquish bump-fire stocks鈥� before the new law goes into effect in October.
But Evan Hughes, the vice president of NRA Foundation Projects at the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen鈥檚 Clubs, a gun rights group, said the law is still 鈥渧irtually unenforceable.鈥�
鈥淭he only way to comply with the law is divest themselves of their property,鈥� he said.
Allison Anderman, the managing attorney for the Giffords Law Center, a gun control organization founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords, the Arizona Democrat who survived a shooting in 2011, acknowledged that enforcing a ban on possession is a challenge. But she emphasized that merely prohibiting the sale of new devices will eventually reduce the number of bump stocks in circulation.
The largest manufacturer of bump stocks, Slide Fire Solutions, has announced that it will stop selling them on May 20.
Meanwhile, the US Justice Department is considering a nationwide bump-stock ban, which has been endorsed by President Trump. ATF is soliciting public comment on the proposal, but it may face a tricky legal challenge: During former President Barack Obama鈥檚 tenure, the ATF determined that it did not have the authority under the National Firearms Act to regulate bump stocks.
This article was reported by Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
