--- description: Stephen Colbert isn't impressed. title: Why Stephen Colbert Thinks 'Bump Stocks' Are A Lot Like Your Bong image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Stephen Colbert Thinks 'Bump Stocks' Are a Lot Like Your Bong by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2017 12:34 PM CUT by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 6, 2017 12:34 PM CUT In the days after the [shooting in Las Vegas](http://time.com/4970955/stephen-paddock-motive-music-festivals-lollapalooza/?iid=sr-link3 "undefined") that left 59 dead, the gun control conversation has centered on ‘[bump stocks](http://time.com/4970938/las-vegas-shooting-bump-stocks-nra-congress-white-house/?xid=homepage "undefined"),’ the accessories found in the possession of the perpetrator after the shooting. Bump stocks are accessories that effectively allow a semiautomatic rifle to function as an automatic one: you swap out a gun’s shoulder rest for a bump stock, which allows the gun to slide back and forth under the kickback of each shot — bouncing against the shooter’s trigger finger more times, thus releasing ammunition at a far greater rate. Stephen Colbert isn’t impressed. “It’s great for hunting, if you’ve got seven seconds to kill every animal in the forest,” he deadpanned on the _Late Show with Stephen Colbert_ on Thursday. He then scoffed at the [accessory’s legality](http://time.com/4970279/fight-over-gun-control-isnt-really-about-guns/?iid=sr-link8 "undefined"). “No, it’s not a gun — it’s just part of a gun,” he said. “It’s like when your parents find your bong and you tell them, ‘hey, there’s no weed in there now. Technically, that is a vase. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Pink Floyd to listen to — can I have my vase back please?'” Watch the full clip above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4971978/stephen-colbert-bump-stocks-bong-las-vegas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4971978/stephen-colbert-bump-stocks-bong-las-vegas/"},"headline":"Why Stephen Colbert Thinks 'Bump Stocks' Are a Lot Like Your Bong","datePublished":"2017-10-06T12:34:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:45:53.408Z","description":"Stephen Colbert isn't impressed.","url":"https://time.com/4971978/stephen-colbert-bump-stocks-bong-las-vegas/","keywords":["Television","Congress","Gun Control","stephen colbert"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4971978/stephen-colbert-bump-stocks-bong-las-vegas/","name":"Why Stephen Colbert Thinks 'Bump Stocks' Are a Lot Like Your Bong"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Paul Ryan: We Need to Learn More About Bump Stocks","description":"Paul Ryan: We Need to Learn More About Bump Stocks","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/AQqGqPm0/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-10-05T21:31:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/AQqGqPm0.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4971978/stephen-colbert-bump-stocks-bong-las-vegas/","duration":"PT49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4971978/stephen-colbert-bump-stocks-bong-las-vegas/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```