COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two state representatives introduced legislation Wednesday seeking to ban the possession and sale of all bump stocks for personal use in Ohio, according to a press release.
The legislation, introduced by Michele Grim (D-Toledo) and Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati), would make the sale or possession of bump stocks a fourth-degree felony and comes one month after the Supreme Court struck down a Trump administration-era ban on bump stocks in 2017, an accessory used in the same year by a gunman who killed 60 people and injured hundreds more in a shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival.
RELATED: Supreme Court strikes down Trump-era ban on bump stocks, gun accessories used in 2017 massacre
“Ohioans and Americans across our country understand why bump stocks are not necessary. They are needlessly dangerous additions to firearms. I’m proud to stand with Representative Thomas and continue to introduce common-sense gun legislation that will save lives across our state,” Grim said in a statement.
The legislation still awaits a bill number and assignment to a House Committee.
Bump stocks are attachments that can significantly increase the rate of fire of semiautomatic rifles, according to the Associated Press. Authorities found more than one dozen guns with bump stocks in the hotel room the shooter fired from in Las Vegas.
The Supreme Court's majority ruling said the accessories attached to semiautomatic rifles do not make them machine guns, though.
Sixteen U.S. states and Washington currently have bans in place on bump stocks, according to the press release from the Ohio House Democratic Caucus.
