A Prospective Bump Stock Ban Shows How Disconnected Gun Control Politics Is From Reality
7th October 2017
Last Saturday the device was an obscure novelty, dismissively regarded in gun circles. The next day it was a prime suspect in the killing of 59 people, and injuring of over 500 more in Las Vegas, Nevada. By midweek, bump stocks were the bullseye of our repetitive shooting match over gun control.
This is like attempting to prevent prostitution by banning high heels.
Predictably, talk of a ban has made bump stocks one of America’s fastest selling gun accessories. “Oh, God, yes, it’s been insane,” one Texas gun store owner told CNN Money. “Since this story has broke, we’ve been getting about 50 people a day asking for them.” Another from Maine said that he had five bump stocks gathering dust for months, before a post-Vegas buying spree saw them all snatched them up.
I hereby christen this the ‘Obama Effect’. Obama’s constant jawing about gun control made his eight years a great time for firearms manufacturers. When people think you’re going to ban something they want, they stock up.
Even with the sudden sales surge, the rarity of the devices raises the question of the real impact of a ban, other than to allow for some bipartisan political posturing. Banning bump stocks is something that can be done without pissing too many people off, placating the crowd that after every shooting in America screams for somebody to do something.
This sort of logic is only questionable outside of politics.
October 9th, 2017 at 09:56
The bump stock is just a novelty – one of many that have been introduced over the years to make a semiautomatic “sorta” automatic. Among gun enthusiasts, owners were considered in the same light as mall ninjas.
The only time full-auto actually increases the destruction efficiency is when you have a crowd – e.g., the Las Vegas concert crowd. When the military moved from the M-16 to the M-4, they did away with full-auto and went to a 3 round burst option. Maintaining accuracy is more deadly than “spray-n-pray”.
Take away our ability to buy or own a bump stock? Go ahead. The only thing upsetting about that is that I hate to make the libs happy.