Pat welcomes Tom Chittum, VP of Analytics & Forensic Services at ShotSpotter who has nearly 27 years of experience in federal law enforcement. Prior to joining ShotSpotter, Tom was an Associate Deputy Director at Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Below are excerpts from his blog which can be found at Ways to Reduce Gun Violence in a Machine Gun Era - ShotSpotter

In 2019, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Department of Homeland Security began recovering illegal machine gun conversion devices imported from China. Soon, they would also be printed on 3D printers.

Under the NFA, the devices themselves—small, innocuous-looking, inexpensive, easy-to-install switches—are illegal, even when not installed on a firearm. However, when installed, they convert a semi-automatic pistol into an illegal, fully automatic machine gun capable of firing dozens of rounds in just a few seconds.

The threat these illegal machine guns pose is real. They have been used to murder police and have also shown up in mass shootings.

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