Washington, DC

(Washington, DC) – Mayor Bowser today announced that she is introducing legislation to ban the possession, use, and sale of bump stocks in the District of Columbia. The Mayor will introduce the legislation to the DC Council, and once approved by the Council, it will move to Congress for the congressional review period. Mayor Bowser will work with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to fight back against any congressional interference with this common-sense legislation.

“Americans are demanding common-sense action, and as leaders, we must listen and act. Bump stocks, which turn already dangerous weapons into lethal machines, have no place in our society,” said Mayor Bowser. “President Trump said he may try to ban bump stocks without sending it to Congress. If the President won’t send a bump stock ban to Congress, we will.”

If passed, Washington, DC will be among the first states to ban bump stocks, following California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Although the 700,000 residents of Washington, DC have no voting representative in the Senate or House of Representatives, Congress has a history of interfering with the District’s local gun control laws. Currently, there are multiple bills introduced in the 115th Congress that would overturn DC’s gun laws, including a bill introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Thomas Garrett (R-VA) that would completely gut the District’s gun laws by legalizing assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and allowing guns in schools.