US gun lobby moves to head off gun control fight in Congress

The National Rifle Association (NRA), an American organization which advocates for gun rights, has called on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to review whether “bump stocks” — similar to the devices used in Sunday night’s Las Vegas mass shooting– comply with federal US law.

“The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and Executive Director Chris Cox said in a joint statement issued on Thursday. ATF is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice.

The NRA move comes four days after a heavily armed gunman killed 58 and injured more than 500 people at a music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada, which has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the United States.

In Nevada, authorities don’t outlaw automatic weapons. They don’t require people…

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