LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The 1 October shooter had 24 weapons in his room.
Twelve of them were rifles modified with bump stocks, a device that turns semi-automatic firearms into machine guns with the ability to fire hundreds of rounds per minute.
After the 1 October tragedy, efforts to ban bump stocks on a federal level succeeded for a short time, as the on-again, off-again bump stock ban has been a legal and political hot potato.
Bump stocks have been illegal in Nevada since 2019, and that was briefly the case federally until the U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer made it legal once again to use the device that makes an already deadly weapon, even deadlier.
"The 1 October shooter was able to inflict as much pain and carnage as he did by using bump stocks," said U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), speaking on the Senate floor last week. "This dangerous modification allowed his weapon to fire more bullets faster, as a way to inflict the most amount of pain on our city. Over 1,000 bullets in just a matter of minutes."
Following the shooting, National Rifle Association officials and Republicans both signaled they were willing to discuss bump stock oversight, to a limited extent.
Then-NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said in 2017, "We ought to take a look at that, see if it's in compliance with federal law and it's worthy of additional regulation. That being said, we didn't say 'ban.' We didn't say 'confiscate.'"
But then-President Donald Trump did say "ban," making this promise in February 2018, "By the way, bump stocks, we're writing that out. I'm writing that out myself. I don't care if Congress does it or not. I'm writing it out myself. Ok?"
At Trump's direction, the U.S. Department of Justice officially banned bump stocks in December 2018.
At the time, then-Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said, "We all remember what happened in Las Vegas on October 1. The shooter that day used a bump stock to accelerate the carnage that was inflicted. The Department of Justice clarified that bump stock-type devices are machine guns and are prohibited by federal law."
The ban took effect in March 2019 but faced several legal challenges, sending the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court.
And in June of this year, justices overturned the ban saying the Trump administration had overstepped its authority.
The decision was a blow to Nevada politicians on both sides of the aisle.
RELATED: 'Still hurting' 1 October survivor reacts to overturn of federal bump stock ban
Gov. Joe Lombardo released a statement saying while he supports the Second Amendment, he is, "A vocal opponent of bump stocks since my time in law enforcement."
Nevada Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voiced disapproval with the court's ruling.
"Gun owners in Nevada that get it, that have common sense, they are questioning why does anybody even need a bump stock unless you're out there to do just what that shooter did on 1 October? And it was horrific. I think it's important that we work in a bipartisan way here," U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) said in June.
Sen. Rosen added, "The Supreme Court overturned this common-sense federal ban, allowing bump stocks to flow into our streets once again. This shameful decision by the Supreme Court will put more lives at risk."
Following the court's reversal, Sen. Rosen joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers proposing a new bill called the "Banning Unlawful Machine gun Parts" or BUMP Act, which would restore and make permanent the federal bump stock ban.
The bill was brought to the Senate floor but has yet to be voted on.
"Las Vegas knows what the real threat of bump stocks are and why we must act," Rosen said last week. "And as we approach the seventh anniversary of this unthinkable tragedy, I ask all my colleagues in this chamber to remember and to honor the memories of the victims, to honor their families, to honor everyone whose lives were forever changed from the night and the shooting on October 1, 2017. I also ask that we come together, Republicans and Democrats in a bipartisan way, to save lives by just passing common-sense legislation to ban bump stocks."
On the state level, prior to 1 October, only California and New York had bump stock bans.
Since then, Nevada has joined 16 states and Washington D.C. to ban the deadly device.
