KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As of Tuesday, March 26, 2019, it's illegal to own, sell, or manufacture bump stocks in America.
So far, the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Kansas City has received just a handful of bump stocks turned in by users.
"We’ve had dozens upon dozens of phone calls from people asking how they can destroy it and 'What should I do those types of things?'" ATF spokesman John Ham said.
Bump stocks allow weapons to fire in a rapid sequence.
The gunman in the 2017 Las Vegas massacre used several when he opened fire on a crowded concert.
Recently, the Justice Department redefined bump stocks after reviewing more than 100,000 comments from the public.
"If you are indeed caught with one, you face the federal felony that addresses being in possession of an unregistered machine gun," Ham said.
Attorney Kevin Jamison focuses on second amendment law.
"This is what they taught us in administrative law class as being arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion," Jamison said.
Some of his clients view the ban as a slippery slope.
"Nobody has come to me saying, 'I want to protect my bump stock,'" Jamison said. 'It’s all been predictions of this being used for some other type of firearm down the road."
While the ATF has posted an online manual on how to destroy a bump stock, the ones they've taken in so far won't see the incinerator just yet.
"At this point, the litigation doesn’t affect the way the laws going to be enforced, but right now we’re not destroying any of them," Ham said.
The ATF estimates there are as many as 500,000 bump stock in U.S.
If someone is convicted of possessing a bump stock, punishment includes a fine and up to 10 years in prison.
