Rep. Curbelo: Consensus Growing on Outlawing Bump Stocks

There is growing consensus that legislation is needed to ban bump stocks such as the ones Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock used to make his semi-automatic guns operate in a similar manner to automatic weapons, Rep. Carlos Curbelo, the co-sponsor of a new bill against the devices, said Friday.

"Yesterday, our office was flooded with calls from fellow Republicans, asking for details about this legislation," the Florida Republican told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "Many of them are anxious to get on without even knowing exactly what we were going to file, but there's a lot of momentum here in the Congress for solving this narrow issue."

Curbelo said it's "very clear to everyone here" that the sale of bump stocks is a "blatant circumvention of the existing law."

He said he and Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts will be filing their bill later on Friday, and "we're confident a lot of colleagues will get on board."

Curbelo said the legislation marks the first time in decades that lawmakers from both parties will work together to advance "sensible gun policy," even though there are some who are saying the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should merely change its interpretation of the rules concerning the device.

According to The New York Times, the ATF told a company asking about the legality of bump stocks that the product was a "firearm part and is not regulated as a firearm under the Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act."

"If they are afraid these devices should be illegal, then let's codify it," said Curbelo. "Turn it into law, so a future ATF can't reinterpret the legislation. Under President [Barack] Obama, it's true ATF said these devices are legal. We recognize they should be illegal. Let's codify it."

Curbelo said he filed legislation last year in hopes of keeping people on the FBI terrorism list from betting weapons, and he'd like to advance that legislation as well.

"But, let's focus on what we can actually get done," he stressed. "The more ambitious we get here, — not just on any issue, but on so many others, like immigration that I'm active on — the more ambitious we get, the less likely we're to get anything done. What I think this country needs and what this country needs, is to show that we can get things done, even if they are small at first."

• Once an Obscure Device, 'Bump Stocks' Are in the Spotlight
• Rep. Cole: Lawmakers Should Look at Bump Stock Guidelines