Council Wants State to Ban Bump Stocks

In light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling relegalizing them, the Milwaukee Common Council wants to see state legislative action to ban bump stocks, a gun modifier that can greatly enhance the speed at which bullets can be fired, to the point where they’ve been classified as machine guns.

And they want to see it by the Republican National Convention in two weeks, where anyone will be allowed to carry firearms just outside of a fenced security perimeter.

But don’t hold your breath expecting a change, especially a fast one. It was the Republican-controlled Wisconsin State Legislature that wrote the law that prohibits municipalities from restricting the carrying of firearms.

Council members are approaching the situation with their eyes open, but still unanimously endorsed the lobbying request Tuesday.

“The Legislature in theory loves local control, unless they’re in charge at the state, and then it doesn’t seem like such a great idea,” said Alderman Scott Spiker. “Principles are principles until they’re inconvenient, apparently.”

Calling them “devices of death,” Spiker said citizens and guests alike are at risk in their presence. “This is a horrific public safety risk.”

Following a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that resulted in 61 deaths and more than 400 gun-fired or shrapnel injuries, then-President Donald Trump‘s administration effectively banned bump stocks in 2018 by reclassifying them as “machine guns” because they modify guns to be able to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute. But the Supreme Court rejected the ban in June, saying the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms overstepped its statutory authority.

“Every state in the union that doesn’t have a state ban, guess what? They’re legal,” said Spiker of the result. “Sixteen states have it illegal; we’re not one of them.” They are banned in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

The council unanimously sponsored the lobbying request.

Anyone is currently free to bring their gun, with or without a bump stock, to the “soft zone” area outside of the Republican National Convention. But a newly-adopted municipal ordinance prevents the carrying of several other items, including canned foods, tape, locks, umbrellas, human waste, fireworks and lumber.

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Related Legislation: File 240399