After the mass shooting along the Las Vegas strip last week that left 58 people dead and more than 500 injured, the National Rifle Association -- long a target of politicians looking to triumph over gun control -- made a rare break from its typical opposition to any form of restriction on guns.
On Thursday, in its first public statement since the shooting, the NRA called for a federal review of so-called bump stocks, which can be used to essentially convert semi-automatic rifles to simulate automatic weapons.
“Bump stocks, just like any other accessory, and just like any other fully automatic weapon, further regulating them doesn’t stop bad guys from getting them,” national spokesperson for Citizens for Trump Jan Morgan told FOX Business’ Lou Dobbs Tuesday. “What we need to talk about is how do we really stop mass murder. We need to get to the root of the problem.”
Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old who pigeonholed himself into a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, used an arsenal of more than 20 guns to fire at the 22,000 concertgoers attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival below him. That arsenal, police later discovered, included bump stocks.
The shooting has reignited the type of mass furor and debate for gun control unseen since 49 people died during a terrorist attack against the LGBT community inside an Orlando nightclub in June 2016.
But, the NRA’s decision to endorse tighter restriction on the bump stocks, a small but significant step that seemingly contradicts its typical ethos, has left some gun owners at crossroads with the powerful non-profit.
“When the foundation of your argument has always been that restricting the rights of law abiding citizens does not stop criminals, because criminals do not act within the confines of the law, then to even go down this route of restricting law abiding citizens in anyway is a slippery slope,” Morgan said on “Lou Dobbs Tonight.”
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