Giffords target muzzleloaders, .50 caliber rifles and more for NFA addition

The national gun control group on Wednesday came out with a list of items they contend skirt federal firearms laws and threaten public safety.

Describing the items as “the next bump stock” the group argues in a report that each device, ranging from AR-style pistols to suppressed muzzleloaders, is in need of additional regulation and oversight under the National Firearms Act.

“Before bump stocks were used to kill 58 people and maim hundreds of others enjoying an outdoor concert, most Americans had never heard of the device,” said David Chipman, a former ATF agent now working for Giffords. “Now there is a growing cry from communities across the nation to make sure bump stocks can’t fall into the hands of another dangerous person. But it’s not the only device  gun manufacturers are pushing that can give someone the firepower of a machine gun.”

The report, entitled “Lethal and Legal” holds that aftermarket binary triggers and trigger cranks should be controlled as machine guns, saying “The gun industry has exploited the NFA’s reference to a ‘single function of the trigger’” to market the devices.

Next, the Giffords say shotguns capable of holding 12 or more rounds, like the UTAS12, are “anti-personnel firearms” and should meet the guideline used for destructive devices such as the Street Sweeper which was placed under NFA regulation in 1994.

The group, fronted by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, argues that AK and AR-style pistols use a design that “is a clear attempt to circumvent the NFA’s attempts to closely regulate short-barreled rifles” as are pistol arm braces and blade stabilizers.

“Again, this attachment allows shooters to possess a weapon with the concealability and accuracy of a short-barreled rifle while skirting the regulations of the NFA,” says the report before moving on to incendiary, armor-piercing and .50-caliber ammunition and the rifles that accept it.

Saying the rounds are designed to “destroy or disable light armored vehicles, radar dishes, stationary and taxiing airplanes, and other high-value military targets,” the report paints a picture of their potential use by terrorists.

Finally, the paper casts shade at black powder guns in general– which are not regulated as firearms by the ATF– and the SilencerCo Maxim 50 moderated muzzleloader in particular.

“This weapon is designed with a built-in device to suppress its sound. If any other firearm were built with such a device, it would be subject to the NFA as a silencer,” says the group.

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