Columbia, South Carolina is one of the first cities to ban the use of gun bump stocks - an attachment that enables a semiautomatic rifle to fire faster.
The measure follows the deadly shooting in Las Vegas, where a gunman used a firearm equipped with a bump stock. He killed 58 people and injured hundreds more. Connecticut is also expected to take up the issue.
Currently bump stocks are not banned under federal law and they’re not specifically listed in Connecticut’s gun legislation.
State Representative Matt Lesser is hoping to change that.
"Bump stocks were only recently invented and they do not have any valid lawful purpose," Lesser said. "They have no military purpose. They have no civilian purpose. They have no hunting or target shooting purpose. They didn’t exist, were not listed in our law, and were not in common use so we should go back and clarify that they have no purpose in Connecticut and don’t belong here."
Lesser said he is happy to see Columbia, South Carolina taking the lead on banning bump stocks.
“I think it shows that support for common sense laws on these issues isn’t just a New England phenomenon, but it spans the entire country including in the Deep South,” Lesser said.
Connecticut would have likely taken up the issue sooner, but, Lesser said, it didn’t line up with the legislative session, which starts up again in February.
