Democrats Unveil Legislation in Response to Las Vegas Shooting

With the nation still coming to grips with the emotional impact of the Las Vegas shooting, for which a motive has not yet been established, Senate Democrats have already begun filing legislation.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill on Wednesday that would ban bump stocks.

Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms special agent Jill Snyder said Tuesday night that gunman Stephen Paddock had 12 bump stocks in his room.

Bump stocks allow a gun owner to convert a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic one.

“There’s no better way to honor the 59 people who were slaughtered than to take action,” Feinstein said, according to The Daily Beast.

“There is no legitimate reason or excuse in recreation or hunting for a bump-stock device,” added Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made it clear that instant legislating was not on his mind.

“I think it’s particularly inappropriate to politicize an event like this,” McConnell said Tuesday, according to ABC News. “The investigation’s not even been completed. And I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions if there are any.”

“In the meantime, our priority is on tax reform, as my colleagues have indicated,” McConnell said.

Republicans did say, however, that the issue was worth discussing, because a bump stock allows for a legal end run of the ban on fully automatic weapons.

“I think it’d be a good time to have a hearing,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told NBC News. “Just find out, ‘How does the technology work?’ and is there a legislative solution?”

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said he wanted to talk to gun manufacturers about making legal weapons incapable of being modified to become automatic weapons.

“One of the concerns that I have is the ability to manipulate a semi-automatic rifle and turn it into a fully automatic rifle,” Heller said. “There has to be a way to be able to stop this.” (For more from the author of “Democrats Unveil Legislation in Response to Las Vegas Shooting” please click HERE)

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