Which states have specific laws prohibiting bump stocks?
18 states have adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Alabama has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Alaska has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Arizona has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Arkansas has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
California has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Colorado has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Connecticut has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Delaware has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Florida has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Georgia has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Hawaii has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Idaho has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Illinois has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Indiana has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Iowa has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Kansas has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Kentucky has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Louisiana has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Maine has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Maryland has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Massachusetts has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Michigan has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Minnesota has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Mississippi has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Missouri has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Montana has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Nebraska has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Nevada has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
New Hampshire has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
New Jersey has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
New Mexico has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
New York has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
North Carolina has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
North Dakota has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Ohio has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Oklahoma has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Oregon has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Pennsylvania has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Rhode Island has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
South Carolina has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
South Dakota has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Tennessee has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Texas has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Utah has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Vermont has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Virginia has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Washington has adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
West Virginia has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Wisconsin has not adopted this policy
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Wyoming has not adopted this policy
What It Does
Fully automatic machine guns—those that fire bullets in rapid succession with a single pull of the trigger—and the parts used to create them have been tightly regulated under federal law since the 1930s.1US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, “National Firearms Act,” April 7, 2020, https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regulations/national-firearms-act. However, the gun industry and third-party sellers continue to produce devices that make it easy to convert semi-automatic firearms into illegal machine guns in a matter of minutes. Bump stocks are replacement shoulder attachments for semi-automatic rifles, particularly AR- and AK-style rifles, that harness the recoil from firing to allow a shooter to fire shots in rapid succession—up to 800 rounds per minute.2Michael Smith and Polly Mosendz, “The Making of a Millionaire and a Massacre,” Bloomberg, October 11, 2017, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-11/the-bump-stock-millionaire-and-the-las-vegas-massacre.
Bump stocks were recovered at the largest and deadliest mass shooting in modern US history,3US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, “National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA): Crime Guns – Volume Two: PART VII: Recommendations and Future Enhancements,” January 2023, https://www.atf.gov/firearms/docs/report/nfcta-volume-ii-part-vii-recommendations/download. where 60 people were shot and killed and over 400 more were shot and wounded during the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas.4Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, “Criminal Investigative Report of the 1 October Mass Casaulty Shooting: LVMPD Event Number 171001-3519,” August 3, 2018, https://www.lvmpd.com/home/showpublisheddocument/134/638298568313170000; “What Is a Bump Stock and How Does It Work?” New York Times, February 27, 2024, https://nyti.ms/43NEi6b; Rio Yamat and Ken Ritter, “FBI Documents Give New View into Las Vegas Shooter’s Mindset,” AP, March 30, 2023, https://apnews.com/article/las-vegas-shooter-9bbd180cf3aa6d3ea1a37bbfb7144ae1.
Following the shooting, states across the country enacted laws to prohibit bump stocks. The ATF also took steps to prohibit bump stocks through a rule which took effect in March 2019.5US Department of Justice and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, “Bump-Stock-Type Devices,” Federal Register 83, no. 246 (December 26, 2018): 66514–54, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2018-12-26/pdf/2018-27763.pdf. Unfortunately, in its dangerous June 2024 decision in Garland v. Cargill, the Supreme Court threw out the ATF rule, effectively legalizing bump stocks in states without specific and clear prohibitions.6Garland et al. v. Cargill, 602 U.S. ____ (2024), https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-976_e29g.pdf; Everytown for Gun Safety, “Everytown Responds to Supreme Court’s Cargill Decision Striking Down ATF Rule Prohibiting Bump Stocks,” press release, June 14, 2024, https://www.everytown.org/press/everytown-responds-to-supreme-courts-cargill-decision-striking-down-atf-rule-prohibiting-bump-stocks/.
The Impact
Nearly all of the firearms used by the mass shooter in Las Vegas were equipped with bump stocks, which enabled him to fire over 1,000 rounds of ammunition in minutes.1Of the 24 firearms recovered from the shooter’s hotel room, 15 were fired by the gunman. Of those 15 fired, 12 were AR-15s equipped with bump stocks. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, “Criminal Investigative Report of the 1 October Mass Casualty Shooting: LVMPD Event Number 171001-3519,” August 3, 2018, https://www.lvmpd.com/home/showpublisheddocument/134/638298568313170000.
Bump Stocks Prohibited
Show Citations and Footnotes
Cal. Penal Code §§ 32900, 16930; C.R.S. §§ 18-12-102, 18-12-101(g.7); Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53-206g; Del. Code tit. 11, § 1444; Fla. Stat. § 790.222; Haw. Rev. Stat. § 134-8.5; 720 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/24-1(a)(14); Md. Crim. Law §§ 4-301(f), (m), 4-305.1; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10(c), ch. 140, § 121; Minn. Stat. § 609.67; Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 202.274; N.J. Stat. §§ 2C:39-3(l), 2C:39-9(j); N.Y. Penal Law §§ 265.01-c, 265.00(26), (27), 265.10; Oregon Senate Bill 243 (2025); R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-8(d); Vt. Stat. tit.13, § 4022; Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.5:1; Wash. Rev. Code §§ 9.41.010(5), 9.41.190.