Press Releases

This week, Congressman Salud Carbajal and a group of 40 members of Congress pushed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for updated and explicit guidance on illegal machine gun conversion devices, also known as ‘auto sears,’ to reduce gun violence and protect communities.

The lawmakers’ letter to ATF can be found here.

“These devices, which can allow weapons to fire at a rate of up to 1,200 bullets per minute, make shootings more deadly, make our law enforcement officers’ jobs more dangerous, and increase the risk that innocent bystanders could be injured or killed when such a volume of bullets is unleashed,” the members wrote. “We urge you to issue updated and explicit guidance on auto sears, put a stop to gun companies pushing the legal limits on these devices, and provide additional resources to help rid communities like ours of these dangerous devices.”

The group, which included more than 10 members of California’s House delegation, cited the specific use of these devices in the shooting that occurred in Sacramento last week.

“Just last week, a tragic shooting in Sacramento involving at least one gun that had been modified with an auto sear killed six people and wounded 12 others. Officials estimate at least 100 rounds were fired,” the members wrote. “In January 2022, a gunman shot three Houston police officers with a barrage of automatic gunfire using an auto sear.”

According to the Houston Bureau of ATF, the number of guns modified with auto sears seized by law enforcement across the United States has quintupled since 2020, from 300 guns in 2020 to more than 1500 in 2021.

While the National Firearms Act regulates fully automatic weapons and any part designed for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, the lawmakers point out in their letter that previous ATF rulings in this area only targeted certain auto sears.

There have also been growing instances of local law enforcement recovering auto sears that have been 3D printed – adding increased risk to the rising threat of ‘ghost guns’ in the U.S.

Rep. Salud Carbajal represents California’s 24th congressional district, encompassing Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and part of Ventura County. He sits on the House Armed Services Committee, Agriculture Committee, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he serves as the Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.