Mississippi lawmakers moving to crack down on machine gun conversion devices

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Legislation advancing in Mississippi — where lawmakers are typically loathe to introduce new gun restrictions — would ban most devices used to convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic ones.

Under a bill passed by the state Senate on Wednesday, local prosecutors could charge people who possess and manufacture modified machine guns. Conversion devices, which are made with 3D printers and can be bought on the internet, make it so that a legal semi-automatic gun can fire multiple rounds at a rapid clip. The proliferation of these devices has led to deadly crimes, Republican Sen. Scott DeLano said.

“These are very deadly devices. They are killing machines,” DeLano said. “This is not something a law-abiding citizen would need to have.”

Lawmakers were moved to introduce the bill after a Mississippi sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed during a traffic stop by a suspect who had a modified machine gun. George County Deputy Jeremy Malone died after he stopped a vehicle U.S. 98 in early January.

The National Rifle Association, which often lobbies against gun control provisions, helped write portions of the bill because it is “cognizant to this threat to our law enforcement community,” DeLano said.

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