HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-18-0076City of Miami
Resolution R-18-0076
Legislation
City Hall
3500 Pan American Drive
Miami, FL 33133
www.miamigov.com
File Number: 3734 Final Action Date: 2/22/2018
A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION URGING THE UNITED
STATES CONGRESS ("CONGRESS") TO PASS HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES BILL 3999 OR SIMILAR LEGISLATION TO PROHIBIT
THE MANUFACTURE, SALE, AND POSSESSION OF "BUMP STOCKS" AND
SIMILAR FIREARM COMPONENTS OR ACCESSORIES; FURTHER URGING
CONGRESS AND THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO PASS LEGISLATION
THAT WOULD HOLD UNETHICAL GUN DEALERS ACCOUNTABLE; AND
LASTLY URGING THE FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS TO
CONDUCT OR SPONSOR RESEARCH INTO "SMART" GUN SAFETY
TECHNOLOGY; DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO MAKE THE POLICIES
STATED ABOVE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES; FURTHER DIRECTING THE
CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE
ELECTED OFFICIALS NAMED HEREIN.
SPONSOR(S): Mayor Francis X. Suarez
WHEREAS, South Florida has just experienced the worst mass shooting at a public high
school in its history when on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Florida, a gunman murdered seventeen (17) people and injured fourteen (14); and
WHEREAS, on October 1, 2017, a shooter committed the deadliest mass shooting in
United States history killing fifty-nine (59) people and wounding more than 500 others who were
attending an outdoor concert using twelve (12) rifles equipped with bump stocks in carrying out
the massacre and using these devices to rain down on his victims approximately ten (10) times
the amount of bullets per minute of firing that he could have been fired into the crowd of
concertgoers with an unaltered semi -automatic rifle; and
WHEREAS, in 1986, under legislation signed by then -President Ronald Reagan, the
United States Congress ("Congress") prohibited the manufacture and sale of any machine guns,
defined as any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot,
automatically more than one (1) shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the
trigger; and
WHEREAS, although the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF")
has prohibited certain devices (conversion kits, Akins Accelerator, etc.) that are designed and
that function to convert a weapon into a machine gun, it has allowed other devices that have the
same functionality to be manufactured and sold, including Slide Fire bump stocks, which the
ATF determined in 2010 did not violate federal law; and
WHEREAS, the manufacturers of bump stocks represented to ATF that the devices
were designed for the purpose of aiding persons of limited physical ability to fire semi -automatic
weapons; but the obvious purpose of these devices is to make semi -automatic firearms function
like fully -automatic machine guns, making them capable of firing approximately 400-800 rounds
City of Miami Page 1 of 3 File ID: 3734 (Revision: A) Printed On: 3/28/2025
File ID: 3734 Enactment Number: R-18-0076
of ammunition per minute, as opposed to the 60-80 rounds per minute rate of an unaltered
semiautomatic rifle; and
WHEREAS, not only do these devices exponentially increase the lethality of the
weapons, they are entirely useless for any legitimate hunting or even sporting purpose as they
severely compromise accuracy and the ability to control the weapon; and
WHEREAS, these devices also cause the weapon to heat up so quickly that they can
cause the firearm to "cook off" rounds even when the shooter does not intend to fire; and
WHEREAS, on October 10, 2017, Congressmen Carlos Curbelo of Florida's 26th
Congressional House District sponsored House of Representatives Bill No. 3999 ("H.R. 3999")
to prohibit the manufacture, possession, or transfer of any part or combination of parts that is
designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle into a fully -automatic
machinegun; and
WHEREAS, to date, while certain bills have been introduced in Congress relating to
bump stocks and similar devices, neither ATF nor Congress has taken action to carry out the
clear purposes of the federal laws adopted in 1986 under which these devices should never
have been allowed to be manufactured, sold, possessed, or used; and
WHEREAS, on February 21, 2018, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum
directing the Department of Justice to dedicate all available resources to propose for notice and
comment a rule banning all devices that turn legal weapons into fully -automatic machineguns;
and
WHEREAS, research shows that 90% of guns used in crimes were supplied by just 5%
of dealers, enabling gun -wielding criminals to victimize our communities every day; and
WHEREAS, there exists technology that allows a firearm to fire only when activated by
an authorized user, with such "smart" gun technology possibly reducing suicides, accidental
shootings, and deaths from stolen weapons;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are
adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this Section.
Section 2. The City Commission sends its thoughts and prayers to all the victims and
their families of the mass shooting that occurred in Parkland, Florida at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School on February 14, 2018 and sends its thoughts and prayers to all the victims
and their families of gun violence in the City of Miami ("City").
Section 3. The City Commission urges Congress to pass H.R. 3999 or similar legislation
to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and possession of "bump stocks" and similar firearm
components or accessories.
Section 4. The City Commission further urges Congress and the Florida Legislature to
pass legislation that would hold unethical gun dealers accountable, change the way they do
business, and shut down those who refuse to act responsibly.
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File ID: 3734 Enactment Number: R-18-0076
Section 5. Alternatively, the City Commission urges the Florida Legislature to lift the
preemption on local governments' regulation of assault weapons found in Section 790.33,
Florida Statutes, and allow local governments to impose a ban on assault weapons.
Section 6. The City Commission lastly urges the federal and state governments to
conduct or sponsor research into further "smart" gun safety technology.
Section 7. The City Manager is directed to make the policies described in this
Resolution as Legislative Priorities of the City.
Section 8. The City Clerk is directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the
Members of the 115th Congress and the Members of the Florida Legislature.
Section 9. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption and
signature of the Mayor.'
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS:
ndez, City Attor ey 3/6/2018
2 If the Mayor does not sign this Resolution, it shall become effective at the end of ten (10) calendar days
from the date it was passed and adopted. If the Mayor vetoes this Resolution, it shall become effective
immediately upon override of the veto by the City Commission.
City of Miami Page 3 of 3 File ID: 3734 (Revision: A) Printed on: 3/28/2025