NRA Says Bump Stocks, Devices Used By Las Vegas Shooter, Should Be Regulated

The National Rifle Association (NRA) said in a statement Thursday that the device the Las Vegas shooter used to convert his semi-automatic weapons to fire automatic should be subject to additional regulations.

"In the aftermath of the evil and senseless attack in Las Vegas, the American people are looking for answers as to how future tragedies can be prevented," said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's CEO, and Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action  in a joint statement.

While they said "unfortunately" the first response from some politicians has been to call for gun control, they said, "The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations."

A growing number of congressional Republicans have expressed that they're open to investigating the legality or even banning bump stocks.

Since the mid-1980s, machine guns that fire multiple shots with one pull of the trigger have been illegal but bump stocks, a gun accessory, is currently legal and allowed the gunman last Sunday to shoot more than 500 people at a country music festival. The shooter killed 58 people and wounded more than 500.

While Republicans, including President Trump, have dismissed the idea of tightening gun laws and have stressed that it's not the time to politicize the tragedy, some say they want to look into bump stocks and place restrictions on them.