NRA breaks silence following Las Vegas shooting, says it may support regulating bump stocks

The National Rifle Association on Thursday opened the door for supporting the regulation bump stocks, a rifle modification that was used in a mass shooting in Las Vegas earlier this week.

In its first statement since the shooting that left 59 dead and over 500 wounded, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre and Executive Director Chris Cox said they would be open to regulating bump stocks, which allow rifles to fire at a higher rate mimicking an automatic weapon.

"The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations," the organization said in a statement.

Despite some opposition from conservative media outlets, Republican leaders said they may be open to banning bump stocks in the wake of the shooting.

For its part, the White House has also said it is open to discussing a potential ban.

Asked in a press conference on Thursday about momentum for a bump stock ban, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the White House would "welcome that."