The ATF Rulemaking in the Gun Control Act

In 10 days of the shooting, two bills prohibiting bump stock devices were proposed in Congress while Congress debated these bills. ATF published a notice of proposed rulemaking intending to reverse its previous interpretation that non-mechanical bump stocks are not machine guns for purposes of the National Firearms Act and gun control act. Senator Dianne Feinstein, who sponsored one of the bills mentioned above expressed concern with the proposed rule. Nevertheless, ATF continued with the rulemaking process publishing the final rule later that year. The final rule purported to modify the definition of a machine gun. And of course, all the legislation died. This is exactly how generally speaking, legislation happens, right? Like a big national spotlight gets shined