Ban On Bump Stocks Is Now Law

BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts has become the first state to adopt a ban on bump stocks since the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival.

Republican Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito on Friday signed into law an appropriations bill that included a prohibition on the devices, which can make a semi-automatic rifle mimic the firing action of a fully automatic weapon.

Authorities say Stephen Paddock used a bump stock while firing on concert-goers from his hotel room.

The Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association, had called on Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to veto the ban. Among other objections, the group said the potential penalties were too harsh.

Baker is on vacation outside the state, but had expressed his support for banning bump stocks in the days after the worst mass shooting in modern American history on Oct. 1.