News

Actions

West Michigan weighs in on Trump administration’s bump stock ban

Posted at 9:48 PM, Dec 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-18 22:19:53-05

KENT COUNTY, Mich.-- On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced a full ban on bump stocks: an attachment that simulates an automatic weapon. It’s a discussion that started last year after the device was used by a gunman who killed 58 people at a concert Las Vegas.

The decision comes after a review by the Justice Department and now, bump stocks will no longer be available for purchase and anyone who currently owns one will have 90 days to turn it in or destroy it. It’s a decision some people in West Michigan say is a big step in the right direction, while others say it doesn’t fix the problem.

“A bump stock is basically a firearms accessory that’s going to replace the butt stock and pistol grip of a semi-automatic modern sporting rifle that is going to utilize the energy of the gun firing and the recoil to push the gun back to reset the trigger," explained Mike Visser, from Silver Bullet Firearms. "As you’re pushing forward again with the support hand it’s basically pushing the trigger back into the finger again.”

Visser is a certified firearms instructor at Silver Bullet Firearms and says the accessory wasn’t that popular when it first came on the market, so they stopped selling them almost two years ago. FOX 17 spoke with Visser last year when the ban was first considered.

"I’m a little surprised that they’re going with a full blown ban on them, saying 90 days from being written into the federal registry that they must be destroyed or turned over to the B.A.T.F.E.," said Visser.

Users have 90 days to turn bump stocks into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or destroy them and provide evidence of doing so.

Members of the Students for Gun Legislation group in Kalamazoo say it’s a step in the right direction.

“I was thrilled and immediately called all of our other students for gun legislation friends and we just said this was a big win for us," said Emma Hiltgart-Griff, co-chair for Students for Gun Legislation and a junior at Loy Norrix High School. "That’s not a tool for hunting, that’s not something you really need to protect yourself, it’s just unnecessary and creates a lot more violence.”

But Visser thinks it’s not so cut and dry, adding there are other ways people alter weapons to simulate automatic fire without bump stocks.

"It’s not going to accomplish what I think they want overall is to stop bad people from doing bad things," said Visser. "The only people that are going to be turning these things in are the decent, upstanding, law-abiding members of society that don’t want to get yanked for a five-year felony.”

On Tuesday, a White House official said there’s believed to be tens of thousands of bump stock devices in circulation, but because there’s no registry or tracking for firearms accessories, there’s no way to find out exactly how many are out there and who owns them.

The ban will take effect 90 days after it’s published in the Federal Register, which is expected to happen on Friday.