WEBVTT - What's a Bump Fire Stock Do To A Gun?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Seger here. On Sunday, October one, a country

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<v Speaker 1>music festival in Las Vegas became the scene of a

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<v Speaker 1>mass killing when a gunman positioned in a high rise

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<v Speaker 1>hotel began shooting at concert goers. At least fifty eight

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<v Speaker 1>died and more than five hundred others were injured before

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<v Speaker 1>the shooter took his own life. This is according to

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<v Speaker 1>Las Vegas TV station k X and T. During the attack,

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<v Speaker 1>the shooter at one point managed to fire nearly ninety

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<v Speaker 1>rounds in just ten seconds, according to a New York

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<v Speaker 1>Times analysis of audio posted on social media. The speed

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<v Speaker 1>of that bullet barrage led some to assume that the

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<v Speaker 1>killer used a fully automatic firearm, a type of gun

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<v Speaker 1>that automatically reloads after a shot is fired, fires again,

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<v Speaker 1>and then repeats the process as long as the trigger

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<v Speaker 1>remains depressed. With the Firearm Owners Protection Act of six,

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<v Speaker 1>Congress banned the sale of new fully automatic firearms, but

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<v Speaker 1>once produced before that date, are still obtainable after the

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<v Speaker 1>purchaser goes through an FBI background check. But the Las

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<v Speaker 1>Vegas killer didn't need a fully automatic weapon to unleash

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<v Speaker 1>rapid fire terror. In a Wednesday, October four press conference,

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<v Speaker 1>Jill Snyder, special Agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol,

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<v Speaker 1>Tobacco and Firearms from the San Francisco office, said that

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<v Speaker 1>when authorities reached the gunman's hotel room, they found an

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<v Speaker 1>arsenal that included twelve semi automatic rifles equipped with aftermarket

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<v Speaker 1>attachments called bump fire stocks. As Snyder explained, the devices

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<v Speaker 1>are designed to simulate automatic fire without mechanically altering the

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<v Speaker 1>function of a rifle in a way that would make

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<v Speaker 1>it illegal under current federal law. A standard fully automatic

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<v Speaker 1>weapon like a pre n coult A R fifteen, can

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<v Speaker 1>fire a hundred shots in about seven seconds, according to

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<v Speaker 1>the New York Times analysis, while a semi automatic a

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<v Speaker 1>R fifteen style assault rifle of the kind used in

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<v Speaker 1>the June two thousand sixteen Orlando nightclub shooting that can

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<v Speaker 1>fire twenty four shots in nine seconds. The bump stock,

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<v Speaker 1>though the one that was used in Las Vegas, more

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<v Speaker 1>than triples the capability of the ladder. As The Truth

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<v Speaker 1>about Guns, a popular gun blog, explains, a bump fire

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<v Speaker 1>stock basically replaces the rigid standard stock on a rifle,

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<v Speaker 1>Unlike the standard stock, the bump fire stock has a

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<v Speaker 1>small amount of space that allows the rest of the

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<v Speaker 1>rifle to move back and forth. That way, the recoil

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<v Speaker 1>causes the gun to bump the trigger against the shooter's finger,

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<v Speaker 1>increasing the speed of firing. As a discussion thread on

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<v Speaker 1>the gun enthusiast website a R fifteen dot com explains

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<v Speaker 1>it's possible to get a similar effect by holding the

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<v Speaker 1>rifle at waste level. Though they increase the lethal potential

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<v Speaker 1>of a gun and replicate a now illegal to possess firearm,

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<v Speaker 1>the bump stocks themselves do not violate the current law.

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<v Speaker 1>A two thousand ten letter produced by the A t

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<v Speaker 1>F explains that one bump fire device that was evaluated

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<v Speaker 1>was found to be a legal firearm part and therefore

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<v Speaker 1>not regulated under the Act. Senator Diane Feinstein, a Democrat

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<v Speaker 1>from California, has introduced a bill that would ban devices

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<v Speaker 1>designed to allow a semi automatic weapon to simulate full

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<v Speaker 1>auto speed. According to CNBC, even some Republican members of Congress,

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<v Speaker 1>generally reluctant to enact firearm regulation, are now willing to

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<v Speaker 1>consider such a band. In the wake of the Las

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<v Speaker 1>Vegas shootings, both the White House and the National Rifle

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<v Speaker 1>Association have indicated an openness to considering more regulation. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Patrick J. Keiger, produced by Tristan McNeil,

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<v Speaker 1>and For more on this and other topics, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>us at how stuff works dot com.