House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said "I certainly hope" voting on a bill regulating or banning "bump stocks" will be a slippery slope toward further gun restrictions.
According to the Washington Post, Pelosi asked House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) to allow a vote on a Democratic bill banning the devices. Upon being asked if the bill was a slippery slope toward further gun restrictions, she said, "So what? ... I certainly hope so."
Ryan and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R., Va.) said they would consider restrictions on bump stocks, a firearm accessory the Las Vegas killer used to accelerate his gunfire in Sunday night's massacre.
"Clearly that’s something we need to look into," Ryan said on MSNBC.
Goodlatte told the Washington Post, "We're going to look at the issue."
Pelosi and the Democrats have made gun control measures a cornerstone of their policy. This week, Pelosi published a letter she wrote to Ryan urging him to create a Select Committee on gun violence.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) unveiled a bill Wednesday to ban bump stocks and has 38 co-sponsors, all Democrats. Sens. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.), John Cornyn (R., Texas) and John Thune (R., S.D.) were among Republicans quoted as supporting or being open to the idea of banning them.
Last week, Pelosi criticized the Republican-sponsored SHARE Act that, among measures, deregulates silencers and furthers protections for interstate firearm transport. However, she insisted "we understand the Second Amendment exists."
"We respect the right of the people to have gun ownership," she said.