With the NRA’s statement on Thursday coming out in support of bump-fire stock legislation, Congress appears to have to go ahead to pass new laws restricting the popular devices and get cover from the largest pro-gun group in the nation. However, just looking at our comments, it’s easy to say that gun owners are split over this.

Now, a second gun rights organization has issued its own statement.

Gun Owners of America released this statement a short time after the NRA’s was released, but the tone? Well, that’s a little different.

Springfield, VA –  Executive Director of Gun Owners of America (GOA) Erich Pratt issued the following statement on GOA’s position on bump stocks:

“Gun Owners of America opposes a ban on bump stocks. Bump stocks were approved by the ATF during the Obama administration to help gun owners with disabilities fire their weapons.  Any type of ban will be ignored by criminals and only serve to disarm honest citizens.  Perhaps that’s why 91 percent of police believe a so-called “assault weapons” ban will have no effect or a negative effect on crime.  And given that 95 percent of cops think that a ban on large capacity magazines would be ineffective in reducing violent crime, it’s hard to imagine they would regard bump stocks any differently.

It’s sad to see some Republicans quickly call for a vote on gun control, while delaying a vote on concealed carry reciprocity, H.R. 38. This is bipartisan legislation which will protect concealed carriers while they travel and which has been cosponsored by 212 law makers. If law makers want a vote on bump stocks, they should vote on reciprocity as well.”

Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over 1.5 million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Newsroom. 

Personally, I think bump-fire is kind of dumb. It’s a good way to waste ammo and accomplish very little for the average citizen. Oh, I get that it’s supposedly pretty fun. I get that completely, but I still see no practical purpose for it.

It doesn’t mean it needs to be regulated.

As noted in the statement, bump-fire stocks have been around for a while. I recall them being approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in 2010. In seven years, we didn’t have a single incident before Sunday. Not one. So, one madman changes everything?

So yeah, I find myself preferring the tone of the GOA’s statement over the NRA’s. As a gun owner, I prefer not to give up a single inch of ground, especially when we’ve been so successful in taking back ground lost previously.

Yet, as I said regarding the NRA’s statement, this is politics. Throwing bump-fire stocks under the bus may be the “virgin in the volcano” we need to keep anti-gunners from going after anything else, especially if it can free up national reciprocity and the Hearing Protection Act. That would be a net win for gun owners while still allowing anti-gunners to hold up their victory over bump-fire stocks.

The next few weeks should be interesting. What do you think? Would losing bump-fire stocks be a fair trade for national reciprocity and suppressors?