Yielding to intense and growing public pressure in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, some congressional Republicans and the White House are cautiously signaling support for a ban on bump stocks, the add-ons that can transform a semi-automatic weapon into a virtual machine gun. But manufacturers like Slide Fire, which makes one of the most popular bump stock kits equate their products with an act of patriotism, a way of supporting the Second Amendment.

He said there is a lot of red tape if someone would want a fully automatic weapon, and the bump stock is away to cheat that.

A bump stock is a device that can be attached to the butt of a rifle, allowing it to fire like an automatic weapon.

"Those who advocate regulating, restricting and eventually eliminating the private ownership of firearms in America have wasted no time in voicing their loud and shrill demands for more gun control", he said.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board dismissed the argument that gun control - and banning bump stocks specifically - would stop mass shootings, writing that the practice of bumping a trigger manually with one's finger "long predates bump stocks or other accessories". This comes as top Republicans in Congress appear open to the idea of a federal law banning the devices.

Julie Gipson, co-owner of Chestatee Firearms in Dahlonega, Georgia, says she sells full automatic guns for tens of thousands of dollars, but she doesn't sell bump stocks, which she described as "a pain in the butt to work with". They serve no objective for hunters and are banned as unsafe on many ranges - including the NRA's own.

Though, always quick to blame a Democrat, Conway reminded TV audiences Thursday that it was President Obama's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that decided in 2010 not to regulate the product, with one official calling it a 'goofy little doodad'.

"We certainly welcome that and would like to be part of that conversation", Sanders said. Piles of ammunition, and devices that converted assault rifles to automatic weapons that fired like machine guns.

"I talked to Chairman [Chuck] Grassley of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and I believe that once the investigation is complete and we learn all aspects of what contributed to this event, then we should have a hearing and look into it", Cornyn said, referring to the Iowa Republican. "Many people are just learning about these bump stocks", he told NPR. Modifying rifles with any of these devices is mocked by some gun enthusiasts. He said it raises "an obvious area that we ought to explore". The movement enables a stationary trigger finger to dramatically increase the number of rounds per minute the gun can fire.

Bump stocks are legal in the neighboring states of Oregon, Nevada and Arizona but have sold out in many stores in recent days, according to news reports, perhaps because gun owners fear the devices soon will be banned.

"The statement they put out said they were interested in looking possibly at additional restrictions", said Roth.