Last week the Massachusetts Senate voted to ban bump stocks and trigger cranks, and classify them under the same general law that governs machine guns. Senator Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) voted in favor of the amendment, which would establish identical penalties – eighteen months to life in prison – for the use and possession of bump stocks and trigger cranks as current law holds for machine guns.

Bump stocks use the recoil power of a weapon to effectively increase the rate of fire to make the gun a fully automatic assault weapon, which have been illegal in Massachusetts since 1994. On Sunday, October 1, fifty-eight people were murdered and hundreds injured by alleged killer Stephen Paddock at a Las Vegas country music festival. Law enforcement found multiple bump stocks and trigger cranks in Paddock’s hotel room where the shooting originated.

“In the wake of the most horrific mass shooting in our nation’s history, we simply cannot justify allowing these devices to continue to be available for civilian use,” said Senator Jehlen. “This proactive step taken by the Legislature will keep Massachusetts families safer from the tragic impacts of gun violence.”

The amendment also instructs the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to notify licensed owners and manufacturers of bump stocks and trigger cranks of the effective date of the changes.

The House of Representative passed a similar bump stock ban, and the two versions will be reconciled before being sent to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

To read the amendment language, visit https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/S2177/Amendments/Senate, click on the ‘Amendments’ tab, and open amendment #5, sponsored by Senator Cindy Creem.