Three survivors of the Las Vegas shooting stood in front of the Senate during the first congressional hearing on “bump stocks.” The technology allowed the shooter to kill 58 people and leave over 500 injured.
Bump stocks allow regular weapons to become automatic in nature, allowing the shooter to shoot more people, faster.
Heather Gooze, one of the survivors of the event, stood in front of the senate to recall her “night of terror.” The bartender stood in support of a bill to ban bump stocks. “Those devices are not for hunting. They are not for target practice. They are for hurting people. And they have no place in our general society,” she claims.
Two other survivors were present during the hearing: Heather Sallan and Christine Caria.
Gooze lived through the ordeal, but remains scarred by the night’s events. She recalls helping a Canadian victim, who was being removed from the scene on a ladder. She stayed with the man, covered in blood, until he died.
She took the man’s cell phone to call his friends and family to tell them that their loved one died.
When questioned why she stayed with the man, she said, “I still don’t know. I am not that strong. I am not that special. I am not that honorable. But something wouldn’t let me run that night and something compelled me to help.”
The night’s events have led to hundreds of lawsuits against MGM, the owner of the hotel where the shooter shot from his room, and Live Nation, the event promoter. The security company hired to secure the event were also named in lawsuits.
Las Vegas has taken steps to further protect the city. One of the steps is the implementation of enhanced security cameras by Hitachi technology.
“Hitachi technology focuses on enhanced security with cameras that can scan for potential dangers, threats, and violent or dangerous situations. When a problem is recognized, the system sends an alert to the police and/or fire department. The Hitachi pilot program is expected to roll out within 30 to 60 days,” states a blog post from Cogburn Law Offices.
Technology is being installed around the city to help protect civilians.
Several senators around the country have proposed local bills to outlaw bump stocks. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, filed a bill to outlaw bump stocks and other devices with similar classifications.
The news comes a day prior to the House approving the expansion of gun owner rights. Republicans pushed the bill through the House that will allow concealed weapons to pass across state lines when carried by a legal owner.
The bill passed the vote 231-198.
The reciprocity measure is a top priority of the NRA and allows gun owners to travel through state lines without worrying about conflicting state laws. Opponents of the bill claim that it will allow owners to pass through state lines with guns that have strict limits in some states.
Opponents allege that the bill takes state rights away by making it legal to bring otherwise illegal weapons over state lines.
