Lincoln might soon join a short list of states and cities that have banned bump stocks and similar devices that make a semi-automatic gun fire much more rapidly.
City Council members Leirion Gaylor Baird and Jane Raybould are hopeful they have bipartisan support to pass a bump stock ban at the council’s Monday meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m.
Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida and Washington have recently banned the devices, also known as multiburst trigger activators. The California attorney general says a 1990 law there bans bump stocks.
Two cities — Denver and Columbia, South Carolina — have also banned bump stocks within their city limits.
Gaylor Baird plans to revise Lincoln's proposed ordinance to delay the ban by a month so people can get rid of any devices they own.
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Gaylor Baird said she has tried to take into account concerns expressed at the public hearing the council had last week and move forward in a “way which makes the best sense.â€
Her revised proposal would delay the effective date of the ban to give people time to comply. People would be able to turn in the devices during the period, similar to police weapon amnesty periods, she said.
The city would also heavily advertise the new ordinance following its passage, she said.Ìý
But Councilwoman Cyndi Lamm said she still has concerns about the proposed ordinance, including some of the language and an appropriate amnesty program, and is seeking a several-week delay.
“No one had bump stocks on the radar screen until several months ago," and neither Public Safety Director Tom Casady nor Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister had heard of them before the Las Vegas shootings in October, said Lamm, one of three Republicans on the seven-member council.Ìý
Bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic rifles to mimic the rapid fire of machine guns when attached, were part of the arsenal found in the Las Vegas gunman’s Mandalay Bay hotel room.Ìý
Lamm said she has talked with defense attorneys who are concerned about turning law-abiding citizens into criminals.
Rather than delay the beginning date of the ban by a month, Lamm would rather see a ban begin immediately, followed by a specific amnesty period — perhaps six months — for people to turn in the devices.
Lamm is also concerned the language of the proposed ordinance might cover more than bump stock-type devices.
Councilman Roy Christensen, a Republican, said he is inclined to support the ordinance at this point.Ìý
Christensen said he acknowledges that it is "generally symbolic in nature." But he's hopeful it will benefit public safety.Ìý
His biggest fear is that "Lincoln will be an island in the state, where bump stocks are allowed everywhere but Lincoln." That will make the ban much less effective, he said.Ìý
Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said Lincoln residents would be able to turn bump stock and trigger cranks into police during the 30-day period before the ban goes into effect, if Gaylor Baird's proposal passes.Ìý
A ban is enforceable, Bliemeister said in a telephone interview Friday.Ìý
"If our officers were to encounter someone in possession of a bump stock or a trigger crank, we would be able to take enforcement action on that," he said.