Heinrich Brings BUMP Act to the Senate Floor, Republicans Block Passage of Legislation
Heinrich’s bill would ban devices designed to indiscriminately kill the highest number of people in the shortest amount of time
Heinrich: “This will not be the last of it”
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) brought his Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts (BUMP) Act, bipartisan legislation to ban bump stocks, to the Senate floor through a unanimous consent (UC) request. The effort directly follows Friday’s ruling by the Supreme Court to overturn a Trump-era ban on bump stocks, devices designed to indiscriminately kill the highest number of people in the shortest amount of time.
U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), objected to Heinrich’s UC request, blocking passage of the legislation.
“The American people understand what commonsense gun safety looks like, and that’s what my BUMP Act is all about. Lives depend on us passing our legislation to finally ban these deadly mass killing devices once and for all. This won’t be the last of it.”
In his floor remarks on the BUMP Act, Heinrich said, “There is NO legitimate use for a bump stock. Not for self-defense. Not for law enforcement. Not even in military applications as they are less accurate than a standard fully automatic military platform. What they are tailor-made for is a mass shooting.”
Heinrich continued, “I am proud to lead the Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts — or BUMP — Act alongside Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Susan Collins, Angus King, and the more than 20 new cosponsors who joined our legislation after the Supreme Court’s ruling. This is the same bipartisan bill that I first introduced in 2018 in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting. The BUMP Act would prohibit the sale of bump stocks and other devices that allow semi-automatic firearms to increase their rate of fire and operate as fully automatic weapons.
Heinrich concluded, “This is something that nearly all Americans agree should be done. This should be a common sense, bipartisan, public safety vote that all of us should welcome if we believe that our kids should have the freedom to feel safe in their church, classroom, or at a movie theater.”
Before his request for a vote on the BUMP Act, Heinrich also spoke about the ongoing fires in Lincoln County, N.M. and the Mescalero Apache Nation, saying, “I want to start by acknowledging the South Fork and Salt Fires that have forced thousands to flee their homes in Lincoln County, New Mexico and the Mescalero Apache Nation over the last 24 hours. These are large and fast-moving fires that are threatening thousands of people’s homes. I know many are worried that they may have already lost their homes, their property, their businesses, and their animals. My thoughts are with every single one of you.
He continued, “I want to extend my extraordinary thanks to the wildland firefighters, first responders, and local and Tribal leaders working to protect New Mexicans right now. I am also grateful to all of the surrounding communities that have already welcomed thousands of their neighbors. In times of need, New Mexicans look out for each other. And I know that we will do everything possible to help our fellow New Mexicans through this immediate emergency and the recovery in the months and years ahead.”
Heinrich’s full Senate Floor remarks on the BUMP Act, as prepared for delivery, are below:
I want to start by acknowledging the South Fork and Salt Fires that have forced thousands to flee their homes in Lincoln County, New Mexico and the Mescalero Apache Nation over the last 24 hours.
These are large and fast-moving fires that are threatening thousands of people’s homes.
I know many are worried that they may have already lost their homes, their property, their businesses, and their animals.
My thoughts are with every single one of you.
I want to extend my extraordinary thanks to the wildland firefighters, first responders, and local and Tribal leaders working to protect New Mexicans right now.
I am also grateful to all of the surrounding communities that have already welcomed thousands of their neighbors.
In times of need, New Mexicans look out for each other.
And I know that we will do everything possible to help our fellow New Mexicans through this immediate emergency and the recovery in the months and years ahead.
I want to stress the importance for everyone in the impacted area to heed evacuation orders and follow directions from local authorities.
Please do everything you can to stay safe.
Now–
I am also here today to ask unanimous consent for the Senate to consider my legislation, the Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts — or BUMP — Act.
Nearly seven years ago, on October 1, 2017, more than 20,000 people gathered for an outdoor music festival.
It was the third day in a row that folks from all around the country joined their friends and family to hear music from some of their favorite musicians.
No one could have anticipated the nightmare that was about to unfold.
Just after 10 p.m., thousands were listening to the final performance of the night.
Then, over the music, they started to hear what they first thought were fireworks.
Rapid gunfire rained down on the crowd – with shots so close together they seemed to bleed into each other.
Total panic erupted.
For the next ten, terrifying minutes, concertgoers ran in every direction, searching for cover where there was none.
Some falling down next to bleeding friends and dying loved ones.
Others fleeing, desperately trying to reach safety.
In total, the shooter fired more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition in just 10-minutes.
He killed 58 people that night and injured hundreds more, including two more who ultimately died from their wounds.
It was and is the deadliest mass shooting attack in American history.
The Las Vegas gunman was able to murder and injure so many people, so quickly because he used a deadly device known as a “bump stock.”
Bump stocks are an attachment that modifies semi-automatic firearms to dramatically increase their rate of fire, allowing them to operate as fully automatic weapons.
They make it possible to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute.
There is NO legitimate use for a bump stock.
Not for self-defense.
Not for law enforcement.
Not even in military applications as they are less accurate than a standard fully automatic military platform.
What they are tailor-made for is a mass shooting.
I know there are those who say, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.”
But the reality is this: bump stocks kill and injure hundreds.
As someone who has owned and used firearms for most of my life — for hunting, sport, and self-defense — I know for a fact that bump stocks serve no legitimate purpose.
And that’s why, in the days and weeks that followed the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, I led a bipartisan effort to ban bump stocks.
I introduced legislation in the Senate alongside my Republican colleague, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Nevada’s Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.
We also called on then-President Trump to use his authority to ban bump stocks in a federal rule.
President Trump actually agreed with us – at the time – and finalized an ATF rule to get it done.
But last week, our wildly out-of-touch Supreme Court majority invalidated that rule.
In an illogical and deadly ruling, they made bump stocks legal once again.
As Justice Sotomayor said in her dissent, “When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.”
I agree with Justice Sotomayor: A bump-stock-equipped semiautomatic rifle is a machinegun, and it should be banned just like machineguns have been for a hundred years.
Even still, within the Supreme Court majority’s ruling, they gave Congress clear direction on the only way for us to protect Americans from these deadly devices.
Congress needs to act.
We need to pass my bill to ban bump stocks now.
I am proud to lead the Banning Unlawful Machinegun Parts — or BUMP — Act alongside Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Susan Collins, Angus King, and the more than 20 new cosponsors who joined our legislation after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
This is the same bipartisan bill that I first introduced in 2018 in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting.
The BUMP Act would prohibit the sale of bump stocks and other devices that allow semi-automatic firearms to increase their rate of fire and operate as fully automatic weapons.
This is something that nearly all Americans agree should be done.
This should be a common sense, bipartisan, public safety vote that all of us should welcome if we believe that our kids should have the freedom to feel safe in their church, classroom, or at a movie theater.
We should also be clear about what happens if we don’t pass this legislation:
We will be giving a free pass to street gangs, cartels, and mass shooters to access these deadly devices and turn them against our communities.
That’s the harm we’re putting our communities in.
There’s some skepticism out there about whether Congress can get this done — about whether all of us coming together to ban bump stocks is impossible.
But just two years ago, we proved that type of thinking is flat wrong.
Over my time here in the Senate, I’ve learned that people are always quick to tell you there’s no path forward for your legislation.
The reality is that there is never a path forward until we collectively choose to make one.
I was proud to be a part of the core group of bipartisan negotiators here in the Senate that helped pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
That was the first significant federal gun safety legislation signed into law in nearly three decades.
During those negotiations, I worked especially closely with my colleague, Senator Collins, on the successful effort to increase criminal penalties for those who help put guns into the hands of criminals and to make it illegal to traffic guns out of our country.
And by passing that law, we proved that Congress can take concrete action to protect our communities from gun violence.
Now it’s time we take similar bipartisan action to ban these bump stocks.
For my part, I refuse to stand idly by and wait for the next mass shooting.
I would ask all of my colleagues to please support the BUMP Act to ban these deadly mass killing devices once and for all.
Background on the BUMP Act:
Since Friday’s Supreme Court ruling, over 20 senators have signed onto Heinrich’s BUMP Act, bringing support up to over a quarter of the total Senate.
Heinrich, Cortez Masto, and former Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) initially introduced the BUMP Act in the 115th Congress, prior to the Trump administration’s enactment of the rule banning bump stocks in 2018. Collins also cosponsored that legislation.
The BUMP Act has been endorsed by numerous gun safety organizations, including Everytown for Gun Safety, GIFFORDS, Brady, March for Our Lives, Newtown Action Alliance, March Fourth, Violence Policy Center, and New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence.
The full text of the BUMP Act is available here.
A fact sheet is available here.
Heinrich has introduced legislation to ban bump stocks and keep Americans safe from gun violence, while safeguarding Americans’ constitutional right to own a firearm for legitimate self-defense, hunting, and sporting purposes.
Last November, Heinrich and King introduced the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act, legislation to protect communities from gun violence, while safeguarding Americans’ constitutional right to own a firearm for legitimate self-defense, hunting, and sporting purposes. In addition to regulating the sale, transfer, and manufacture of gas-operated semi-automatic weapons, the GOSAFE Act would prevent unlawful modifications of permissible firearms, including bump stocks.
Heinrich and King introduced the GOSAFE Act in the Senate, alongside U.S. Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). The GOSAFE Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Earlier this month, Heinrich announced that his GOSAFE Act has been introduced in the House by U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (D-Ga.).
Additional background on Heinrich's leadership to tackle gun violence:
Last month, Heinrich announced over $1 million he secured in the FY24 Appropriations Bills to purchase new National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) ballistics testing machines for law enforcement agencies in Las Cruces, Farmington, Gallup, and Roswell. The intelligence gathered by these machines will go to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center where dedicated and trained analysts will use the information to trace and network firearms used in crimes across the state. The Center will then be able to feed that information back to law enforcement agencies to improve identification of suspects and support successful prosecutions.
In March, in the FY24 Appropriations Bills, Heinrich also secured language directing the expanded use of NIBIN for state and local agencies in the Southwest Border region.
In July 2023, Heinrich cosponsored the bicameral Ghost Guns and Untraceable Firearms Act, legislation, led by Blumenthal, to require online and other sellers of gun-making kits to comply with federal firearm safety regulations.
Heinrich was also a member of the core bipartisan group that negotiated the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — the first significant federal gun safety legislation to become law in 30 years — specifically working with Collins to lead the successful effort to increase criminal penalties for straw purchases and stop illegal gun trafficking out of our country.
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