Bump stock devices were relatively obscure to the American public, right up until 2017, when a gunman in Las Vegas was able to use a bump stock to kill several dozen people and injure several hundred more in one of the worst mass shootings in our history. The public quickly came to realize that bump stocks are an after-market accessory gun owners can attach to semi-automatic rifles to make them fire faster.
At this point, I imagine many readers are saying, “Well, wasn’t this the obvious outcome? Republicans oppose practically all measures to prevent gun violence, so it hardly comes as a surprise that GOP senators would balk today.” But it’s not quite that simple. In October 2017, less than a week after the deadly massacre at the Mandalay Bay hotel, there was bipartisan support for taking action on bump stocks.