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The accessory that Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock used to make his weapons even more lethal falls into a gray area in New York law, gun experts say, and one that has never been tested in court.
Paddock, who was found dead in the Mandalay Bay hotel after a shooting rampage that killed 58 and wounded more than 500, used a “bump fire stock” to allow several of his semi-automatic rifles to fire as if they were fully automatic machine guns.
Spokespeople for the New York State Police and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said they believed bump fire stocks were illegal, citing a prohibition on any “firearm or weapon simulating a machine-gun and which is adaptable for such use.”
But the stocks are allowed under federal law, and politicians, law enforcement officials and advocates offered different views about whether or not they’re actually prohibited.
“I’ve never encountered one in my 30-year career. I’d have to do some research on them,” said Michael Lefancheck, chief of the Baldwinsville Police Department in suburban Syracuse. “We would probably reach out to our local district attorney’s office. … It’s not a weapon that is common.”
Gary Pudup, a representative of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, said he believed bump fire stocks are legal under current law.
“Part of the confusion can happen when, depending on which officer you ask, they can have different interpretations,” said Pudup, who retired as a commander in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. “If in New York someone has one, I’m not convinced it violates the law.”
The practice of bump firing is nothing new. Shooters can hold a rifle, usually against their hip, and apply forward pressure while keeping their finger just in front of the trigger. The recoil from the shot and the forward pressure create the effect of pushing the rifle back toward the trigger finger — which then fires another round.
Bump fire stocks let rifles slide and allow shooters to shoulder fire a gun and achieve the same effect as if they were bump firing from their hip. This greatly improves accuracy, according to companies that manufacture the stocks, but it is still limited — as with fully automatic rifles.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms wrote in 2010 that “the stock has no automatically functioning mechanical parts or springs and performs no automatic mechanical function when installed.” As such, they are available for sale online.
Beau Duffy, a spokesman for the New York State Police, said a gun outfitted with a bump fire stock was illegal under Section 265.02(2) of New York’s Penal Law — criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. A spokeswoman for Schneiderman pointed to the same section of law.
“They make already deadly weapons into tools of war, and have no place here,” Schneiderman, a Democrat, tweeted Tuesday night.
According to the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services, 24 people have been charged under that subsection this year and 338 people have been charged since 2012. But that includes prosecutions for the possession of silencers, explosives and bombshells. Experts interviewed for this article said none of those related to bump stocks.
“I’m not aware of any case law and I don’t think there’s any case law involving the bump fire stocks,” said Peter Vasilion, an attorney from Erie County who regularly practices Second Amendment law.
Still, Brian Olesen of the Capital Gun Group said that he doesn’t sell bump fire stocks and believes they’re illegal “by design if not by function.” He offered a different rationale.
The leading manufacturer of the stocks, Slide Fire, only sells products that include pistol grips — one of a series of features on semi-automatic rifles that classify them as banned assault weapons under the SAFE Act, a 2013 gun control law pushed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Vasilion agreed with this assessment, and said he advises people against buying or selling the stocks. So too did Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple.
“I was amazed they’re so cheap and can make a seriously automatic weapon,” Apple, a Democrat, said. “We look at it as a protruding pistol grip, and therefore it’s a SAFE Act violation. I don’t know if I’d want to split hairs as far as simulating a machine gun — it’s still not a fully automatic gun.”
New York law murky on gun accessory used in Vegas
Paddock, who was found dead in the Mandalay Bay hotel after a shooting rampage that killed 58 and wounded more than 500, used a “bump fire stock” to allow several of his semi-automatic rifles to fire as if they were fully automatic machine guns.
Spokespeople for the New York State Police and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said they believed bump fire stocks were illegal, citing a prohibition on any “firearm or weapon simulating a machine-gun and which is adaptable for such use.”
But the stocks are allowed under federal law, and politicians, law enforcement officials and advocates offered different views about whether or not they’re actually prohibited.
“I’ve never encountered one in my 30-year career. I’d have to do some research on them,” said Michael Lefancheck, chief of the Baldwinsville Police Department in suburban Syracuse. “We would probably reach out to our local district attorney’s office. … It’s not a weapon that is common.”
Gary Pudup, a representative of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, said he believed bump fire stocks are legal under current law.
“Part of the confusion can happen when, depending on which officer you ask, they can have different interpretations,” said Pudup, who retired as a commander in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. “If in New York someone has one, I’m not convinced it violates the law.”
The practice of bump firing is nothing new. Shooters can hold a rifle, usually against their hip, and apply forward pressure while keeping their finger just in front of the trigger. The recoil from the shot and the forward pressure create the effect of pushing the rifle back toward the trigger finger — which then fires another round.
Bump fire stocks let rifles slide and allow shooters to shoulder fire a gun and achieve the same effect as if they were bump firing from their hip. This greatly improves accuracy, according to companies that manufacture the stocks, but it is still limited — as with fully automatic rifles.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms wrote in 2010 that “the stock has no automatically functioning mechanical parts or springs and performs no automatic mechanical function when installed.” As such, they are available for sale online.
Beau Duffy, a spokesman for the New York State Police, said a gun outfitted with a bump fire stock was illegal under Section 265.02(2) of New York’s Penal Law — criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree. A spokeswoman for Schneiderman pointed to the same section of law.
“They make already deadly weapons into tools of war, and have no place here,” Schneiderman, a Democrat, tweeted Tuesday night.
According to the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services, 24 people have been charged under that subsection this year and 338 people have been charged since 2012. But that includes prosecutions for the possession of silencers, explosives and bombshells. Experts interviewed for this article said none of those related to bump stocks.
“I’m not aware of any case law and I don’t think there’s any case law involving the bump fire stocks,” said Peter Vasilion, an attorney from Erie County who regularly practices Second Amendment law.
Still, Brian Olesen of the Capital Gun Group said that he doesn’t sell bump fire stocks and believes they’re illegal “by design if not by function.” He offered a different rationale.
The leading manufacturer of the stocks, Slide Fire, only sells products that include pistol grips — one of a series of features on semi-automatic rifles that classify them as banned assault weapons under the SAFE Act, a 2013 gun control law pushed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Vasilion agreed with this assessment, and said he advises people against buying or selling the stocks. So too did Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple.
“I was amazed they’re so cheap and can make a seriously automatic weapon,” Apple, a Democrat, said. “We look at it as a protruding pistol grip, and therefore it’s a SAFE Act violation. I don’t know if I’d want to split hairs as far as simulating a machine gun — it’s still not a fully automatic gun.”
New York law murky on gun accessory used in Vegas
