HARTFORD, Conn. – The Connecticut chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statement praising lawmakers for passing legislation out of the Connecticut Senate that would prohibit bump stocks and other conversion devices. HB 5542 makes it illegal to own, manufacture or sell bump stocks, trigger cranks and other firearm conversion devices that effectively allow semi-automatic firearms to mimic the firing speeds of machine guns. The bill now heads to Governor Malloy’s desk and he has indicated that he will sign this important public safety law.
Machine guns have been tightly regulated under federal law since the 1930s, but bump stocks and other rapid-fire devices are designed to skirt the law and mimic automatic gunfire and can greatly increase the lethality of shootings. Guns equipped with bump stocks were used in the largest and deadliest mass shooting in modern American history last year in Las Vegas, where 58 people were killed and hundreds more injured.
STATEMENT FROM KATE MARTIN, VOLUNTEER WITH THE CONNECTICUT CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“We are so proud that once again Connecticut lawmakers are prioritizing gun safety. This legislation will help protect all of our communities. However, we still have more to do to prevent gun violence in Connecticut, and next session we look forward to working with lawmakers on additional common-sense gun legislation.”