New Jersey Becomes Second State to Make Bump Stocks Illegal After the Las Vegas Mass Shooting
TRENTON, N.J. – The New Jersey chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today released the following statement applauding New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New Jersey lawmakers for ensuring Senate Bill 3477 will become law. This bill makes it illegal to own, manufacture or sell bump stocks – firearm conversion devices that effectively allow semi-automatic firearms to mimic the firing speed of machine guns – and any similar rapid-fire devices. It also establishes criminal penalties for those who violate the law.
Machine guns have been tightly regulated under New Jersey and federal law for decades, but dangerous gaps in the law have allowed for the sale and possession of accessories that greatly increase a semi-automatic firearm’s rate of fire. 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. New Jersey now joins Massachusetts, becoming the second state to enact this important kind of legislation since the Las Vegas mass shooting.
STATEMENT FROM BRETT SABO, VOLUNTEER LEADER WITH THE NEW JERSEY CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“We applaud our state’s bipartisan leadership for siding with public safety and voting and signing Senate Bill 3477 into law. New Jersey is proud to join Massachusetts as one of the first states to make these lethal accessories illegal after they were used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history last year. Plain and simple, our country cannot afford for another tragedy like Las Vegas to occur, and we hope other states will join us in prioritizing public safety and follow suit in passing similar common-sense legislation. The future of our country depends on it.”