York City Council approves ordinance banning machine‑gun conversion devices despite legal challenges

The York City Council on Sept. 2 voted to adopt an amendment to Article 702 of the York City Code banning possession, manufacture, transfer and use of so‑called rapid‑fire conversion devices such as binary triggers, bump stocks and other parts that convert a semiautomatic handgun to functionally automatic fire.

Supporters and city police officials told the council the devices multiply the lethality of firearms and have been recovered more often in recent years; opponents and gun‑rights advocates said the ordinance conflicts with state preemption and constitutional protections and warned of costly litigation.

Adam Garber, senior organizer with Ceasefire PA, told council the devices "allow someone to rapidly spew bullets into a community and outgun our even our own law enforcement officers here in York." He said such devices are inexpensive and widely available, and cited an incident in Brackenridge in which an attacker used a conversion device in an attack…