Bill Introduced In Nebraska Senate That Would Ban Both Bump Stocks And Suppressors

Sen. Patty Pensing Brooks (Lincoln) introduced Legislative Bill 780 would make "the manufacturing, sale, purchase or possession of bump stocks and silencers a class IV felony, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a year of post-release supervision." While the Nebraska legislature is officially non-partisan, Brooks is a registered Democrat.

LB 780 would not just ban suppressors and bump stocks as the language makes clear:

Multiburst trigger activator means either: (a) A device designed or redesigned to be attached to a semiautomatic firearm which allows the firearm to discharge two or more shots in a burst by activating the device; or (b) a trigger-activating device, whether manual or power driven, that is constructed and designed so that when such device is attached to a semiautomatic firearm the rate of fire of such firearm is increased;

It is not clear whether belt loops and agile index fingers will also be banned as they could be considered multiburst trigger activators in the strictest sense of the word.

According to the Omaha World-Herald, both the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association and the NRA have come out against the bill.

Sen. Brooks had this to say about her bill:

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, said she believes that the state would be safer if it banned a device that enables mass shooters to increase their rate of fire. The Democratic senator noted that she is entering the final year of her first term.

“If I’m not re-elected, I think I would walk away from here thinking, ‘You did nothing about the proliferation of guns in your community,’ ” she said Wednesday.

The other gun related bill introduced today was LB 730 by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha. His bill would impose a 10% excise tax on ammo sales. Half the proceeds of the tax would go to wildlife conservation but the other half would go to the "violence prevention fund." This sounds suspiciously like what was adopted in California that funds the "research" efforts of anti-gun Dr. Garen Wintemute. Sen. Wayne, in case you haven't guess it by now, is a Democrat.

Republicans hold a 2-1 majority in the legislature but that is not a guarantee that either of these bills won't pass. I could foresee some compromise where suppressors are left out of LB 780 but the "multiburst trigger activators" portion goes on to pass.