Gun Modifiers

Gun modifiers are attachments to a firearm that make firearms more deadly. There are several types of modifiers on the market – some of which are legal and some of which are illegal.

Among these modifiers are auto sears and switches, bump stocks, silencers, and stabilizing braces.

What are auto sears and switches?

Auto sears are a small attachment that is compatible with semi automatic firearms that effectively creates a machine gun. This small accessory makes it so a semiautomatic weapon is capable of emptying an entire magazine with one pull of the trigger.

Also known as switches, giggle switches, and clips, these devices have been around since the 1970s, but have become more popular over the past few years.

Auto sears are difficult to obtain because machine guns have been prohibited in the United States since 1934. However, there is now robust access to these devices on the black market.

1,500

firearms modified with auto sears. In 2020, only 300 firearms modified with auto sears were recovered by ATF.

What are bump stocks?

A bump stock is an attachment that replaces a rifle’s standard stock – the piece of a firearm that is held against the shoulder. In essence, a bump stock allows the rifle to move back and forth between the shooter’s shoulder and trigger finger, making the rifle fire in quick succession.

shots in just 10 seconds.

In 2019, an ATF rule clarified that rifles equipped with bump stocks are considered machineguns under the Gun Control Act and the National Firearms Act. As such, the possession of such a device is against federal law.

What are stabilizing braces?

A stabilizing brace is a device that can be attached to a pistol to help a shooter “stabilize” their arm. While stabilizing braces are intended to aid shooters with disabilities, similar devices marketed as “stabilizing braces” have since been used to turn pistols into illegal short-barrelled rifles and enable easy, accurate, and rapid fire that makes the firearm significantly more deadly.

Their enhanced lethality makes them appealing to mass shooters – including the Covenant School shooter in Nashville, TN.

In 2023, the ATF released a rule clarifying the proper use of stabilizing braces, which cannot be used to create a short-barreled rifle that is outlawed on the federal level.

Learn More

PRESS RELEASE

Brady statement on Senate stabilizing braces vote

Read
OUR CASES

Prescott ET AL v. Slide Fire Solutions

Read
BRADY LEGAL

Brady Legal and the Brady Legal Alliance work to reform the corporate gun lobby and secure justice for the victims and survivors of gun violence.

Read

Gun Modifiers

What are gun modifiers?

What are auto sears and switches?

In 2021 alone, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) recovered

What are bump stocks?

Bump stocks were used in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting – the most deadly mass shooting in U.S. history. The use of bumpstocks allowed the gunman to fire

What are stabilizing braces?

Learn More