Delaware House passes and governor signs bump stock ban

Karl Baker | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Carney on bump stocks, assault weapons and red flags Delaware Gov. John Carney describes gun control bills facing the General Assembly in 2018.

Gov. John Carney on Thursday signed into law a bill to ban bump stocks and other devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire at a fast rate.

The bill signing occurred about an hour after the Delaware House passed, without debate, the final version of House Bill 300, which was designed to prevent would-be mass shooters from spraying bullets into crowds.

"At the end of the day, it's the right thing to do for our state," Carney said. Bump stocks "essentially convert a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic weapon, a machine gun, if you will."

The bill had been ping-ponging between the House and Senate for weeks as lawmakers disagreed on the penalty to be imposed on any person found to be in possession for the first time of a bump stock or trigger crank.

Earlier this month, the Delaware Senate voted in favor of an amendment that reduces the penalty to a Class B misdemeanor.

The House on Thursday ultimately opted not to amend the bill further. A total of 12 amendments – or amendments to amendments – had been introduced with the bill.

Eight passed.

House slated to vote on amended bump stock ban A proposed ban on devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire more rapidly is slated for a new vote in the Delaware House nearly two months after the chamber overwhelming approved an earlier version of the bill.

Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf said his Democratic colleagues did not change the language again on Thursday "because it's more important to get a bill passed."

A provision within an earlier House version of the bill, which provides $15,000 toward a state-sponsored buy-back program for the devices, remained in the final legislation.

Bans on bumps stocks and trigger cranks have been enacted in multiple states during the past year. The actions were sparked after authorities revealed that bump stocks were attached to 12 weapons found on rifles used by Stephen Paddock, the man who in October committed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Police say Paddock killed 58 people and wounded about 500 others in Las Vegas as he shot from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of concertgoers.

Delaware's bill cites the Las Vegas shooting as one reason for the potential new law.

Bump stocks fit onto the shoulder end of a rifle. The shooter holds a finger in front of the trigger instead of squeezing it. To fire, the shooter applies a light but steady forward pressure on the barrel with the supporting arm, which allows the recoil action to fire rounds in rapid succession.

Contact Karl Baker at kbaker@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2329. Follow him on Twitter @kbaker6.