Article snippet: Most popular on BostonGlobe.com Based on what you've read recently, you might be interested in theses stories WASHINGTON — House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday that Congress needs to take a look at ‘‘bump stocks’’ that can effectively convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automated weapons. The Wisconsin Republican added his voice to a growing chorus of leading Republicans showing a surprising willingness to take a step, however narrow, in the direction of regulating guns in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre. The killer in Las Vegas apparently used the legal bump stock devices on legal rifles, essentially converting them into automatic weapons, which are banned. That allowed him to spray gunfire into the crowd below much more quickly, with lethal results, exposing what some lawmakers said looked like a loophole in gun laws. ‘‘I didn’t even know what they were until this week, and I’m an avid sportsman, so I think we’re quickly coming up to speed with what this is,’’ Ryan said in an interview on MSNBC. ‘‘Fully automatic weapons have been banned for a long time. Apparently this allows you to take a semi-automatic and turn it into a fully automatic so clearly that’s something that we need to look into.’’ The No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, has made similar comments, as have other Republicans. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill Wednesday to ban the devices, and a companion measure has been introduced in the House. ... Link to the full article to read more