Wisconsin legislators called on to ban bump stocks

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on bump stocks has a Milwaukee Alderman pushing for state legislators to ban them ahead of the Republican National Convention (RNC).

During Tuesday's Common Council meeting, 13th District Alderman Scott Spiker shared his push for the Wisconsin State Legislature to meet in a special session to pass legislation that would provide for a state-level ban on bump stocks.

"I've called these devices of death," he said. "I support the Second Amendment very strongly, and many of my constituents do as well. You can be pro-second amendment and anti-bump stock," Spiker said.

Bump stocks are devices that modify semi-automatic firearms, so bullets discharge faster. The modification makes them almost like automatic weapons, which are generally prohibited under federal law. In 2017, a mass shooter used a gun with a bump stock to kill over 50 people at a Las Vegas concert. After that, bump stocks were considered automatic by the Trump Administration until the United States Supreme Court overturned that rule last month.

Now, bump stock laws are up to states, and only 16 have banned them, but not Wisconsin. As state law prohibits the city from banning them, Spiker called on Wisconsin lawmakers to prohibit them before the RNC to ensure the safety of residents and the thousands of visitors set to be in Milwaukee for the convention.

"This shows the problem when you jettison local control," he said. "We could do something right now. We could do something very quickly, and our hands are tied by the state legislature."