Starting tomorrow, the bump stock device that can be attached to a semi-automatic weapon will officially be banned across the country.
Bump stocks must be destroyed or turned over to authorities before Tuesday, March 26th. Owners were given 90 days to turn in or destroy them, and that period ends tomorrow.
The Justice Department issued the rule in December, deciding that existing prohibitions against fully automatic weapons also covered bump stocks.
The ban was ordered by the President in response to the deadly Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds more in Oct. 2017. Federal investigators found the shooter used a bump stock.
The government isn’t allowing existing owners to keep their bump stocks or offering any compensation for the devices.
Violators can face up to 10 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines if they’re not destroyed or turned over by Tuesday.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives first ruled that bump stocks were legal in 2010, and since then, the government estimates more than 500,000 have been sold.
Photo: Slide Fire / (MGN)
