Orlando lawmaker proposes ‘bump stock’ ban in Florida

Little more than a week after a massacre in Las Vegas, a Florida state senator Monday proposed banning devices —- known as “bump stocks” —- that can be used to increase the rate of firing bullets from semi-automatic weapons.

Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, filed the bill (SB 456) for consideration during the 2018 legislative session, which starts in January.

Bump stocks have drawn widespread attention since Stephen Paddock fired guns Oct. 1 from a window at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds of others who had gathered for a country-music concert. Paddock, who also killed himself, had modified weapons to make them fire more rapidly.

Stewart’s bill would ban the possession and sale of bump stocks in Florida.

This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2017.