Republicans in the Senate blocked a bill on Tuesday that would have prohibited bump stocks, attachments for guns that increase their firing rate with a single trigger pull.
During Senate proceedings, Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the bill’s sponsor, requested a vote by unanimous consent to expedite the process. However, Republican Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska objected, effectively halting the bill’s progress.
Senator Ricketts criticized the bill, referring to it as another Democratic “show vote” and claiming it aimed to ban various firearm accessories.
Following a federal court of appeals ruling earlier this year that Congress needed to address the legality of bump stocks, Democratic Senators, along with Republican Senator Susan Collins from Maine, introduced the bill to ban the devices permanently.
Senator Heinrich emphasized the necessity of banning bump stocks, stating that they are designed to cause maximum harm in the shortest time possible and should not be allowed in civilian possession.
Days after the bill was introduced, the Supreme Court overturned the Trump administration’s ban on bump stocks, prompting President Joe Biden to urge Congress to implement a ban through legislation.
Efforts to increase regulation on bump stocks are also in progress in the House of Representatives.
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