Letter to the editor: Pa. needs a bump stock ban

I am writing regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn a federal ban on bump stocks, the lethal device that turns semi-automatic rifles into military-style killing machines. At the Las Vegas music festival in 2017, the shooter used this device to kill more than 55 people.

Pennsylvanians are in grave danger once again with this decision by an embattled Supreme Court. In May, Pennsylvania House Bill 335 was voted down in a one-vote margin fueled mostly by Pennsylvania House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler, who claimed a Pennsylvania ban was unnecessary due to a federal ban. We are now all less safe in a commonwealth where these lethal gun conversion devices are easily and legally accessible to anyone who wants to inflict mass damage.

State lawmakers need to revisit this issue immediately, put the political power struggles aside and pass meaningful legislation that keeps Pennsylvanians safe. Many are not listening to their constituents’ pleas to step up gun violence protection. Polling from 2017 (prior to the enactment of the federal ban) showed that 82% of Americans support banning bump stocks.

It is all in the hands of the Pennsylvania state lawmakers. Take urgent action and pass a law to ban bump stocks once and for all in Pennsylvania.

Barbara Richards

McCandless