NJ Lawmaker: Ban Trigger That Turns Guns Into Assault Weapons

New Jersey already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country.

But a Democrat from South Jersey wants to add another law.

"Acts of mass gun violence cannot be our new norm," Assemblyman Paul Moriarty said Friday, a day before a gunman went on a shooting rampage in West Texas, killing seven people and wounding nearly two dozen others, including a 1-year-old girl.

Moriarty is sponsoring legislation to ban binary triggers in New Jersey. It's a modification that the Gloucester County lawmaker says will turn a gun into an assault weapon. He says a 30-round magazine can be emptied in 30 seconds with the use of this trigger adaption.

According to Moriarty, when this device is fitted onto a firearm, it allows someone firing a gun to get off two rounds —one when they pull the trigger and a second when they release it.

"Every time you pull the trigger, two bullets are released from the trigger. So it turns it into an automatic weapon," he said.

"The legislation very simply bans the use of binary triggers, and also bans the possession of them," he explained. "It is not just on the actual weapon. We want to ban these, because no one would have these if they did not intend to put them on weapons or sell them to people who want to put them on weapons."

Moriarty says he thinks Trenton will pass the binary trigger ban because this gadget is similar to a bump stock, which was banned in an earlier state law.