The shooter in Las Vegas shot nearly 600 people (killing nearly 5 dozen of them) in less than 10 minutes. He could do this because he had several assault rifles that he had modified with "bump-stocks" (which allow the weapon to shoot similar to an automatic weapon -- a machine gun).It is not a violation of the Second Amendment to outlaw automatic weapons, and they have been outlawed. But the gun manufacturers have found a way around the law. The bump-stock doesn't actually turn the assault rifle into an automatic weapon -- it just makes it act like one. That may sound like a technicality, but it allowed those devices to be sold legally.
After Las Vegas, several members of Congress started talking about outlawing devices like the bump-stock that allow assault rifles to mimic the action of an automatic machine gun. Unfortunately, that was just talk -- and it now looks like nothing at all will be done.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (pictured) has come out against congressional action. He says it would be more appropriate for the ATF to consider outlawing the bump-stock. He's taking his marching orders from the NRA, which has also said Congress should not act, but the ATF should "review" the rules allowing the bump-stock.
Of course, the ATF reviewed the device back in 2010 and declared it legal. They said they could not outlaw it because it wasn't a firearm, and didn't actually turn the weapon into a real automatic weapon. Only a fool would think they will not change their ruling -- especially since their current boss is Donald Trump (who planted himself firmly in the NRA's pocket during the campaign).
In other words, absolutely nothing is going to be done about gun violence in this country. The ATF won't act, and Congress won't act. It doesn't seem to matter how many people are killed each year by guns (over 30,000 -- 12,000 of them murdaers), or how many people can be killed in a single incident (58 in Las Vegas). There is no limit to the blood price Congress is willing to tolerate to protect the NRA and the gun manufacturers.
That means it is now legal for any person, without a background check, to purchase one or more weapons and modify them to shoot hundreds of people in just a few minutes. That's sheer insanity. Is this the kind of country you want to live in?
We have Paul Ryan and congressional Republicans to blame for this. They have all shown they don't care for American lives, but only for the profits of the gun manufacturers and the campaign donations of the NRA. How long are we going to tolerate this?
