Massachusetts has become the first state to adopt a ban on bump stocks since the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival.
On Friday, Republican Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito 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.
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.
Investigators have said Stephen Paddock, the gunman who opened fire Oct. 1 on a Las Vegas music festival killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more, used a bump stock.
The Massachusetts House and Senate approved an $85 million budget bill Thursday that includes the ban. Lawmakers initially were considering banning any device that attaches to a rifle or shotgun to increase the discharge rate, which gun rights advocates opposed.
They adopted narrower language specifically prohibiting bump stocks and trigger cranks.
