Machine Guns — Can You Own One?

You'd be shocked at how many people in America (including gun owners) believe they're illegal. True, according to the ATF's definition, "any weapon that shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger," plus receivers and certain parts, is illegal in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Citizens of 35 states, on the other hand, can lawfully use this portion of their Second Amendment rights if they are prepared to go through the procedure of purchasing and registering a machine gun, assuming they can find one for sale.

When a machine gun was transferred from one federally registered owner to another, the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 imposed a $200 fee on interested people. Though $200 may not seem like much in 2020, it was worth $3,867 in 1934. The government's strategy to combat the criminal element of the Gangster era, which violated the Bill of Rights enacted in 1791, was to collect tax income and register residents in order to prevent ownership of machine guns. Though the NFA's spirit appears to be good, it has resulted in increased regulatory powers for the federal government and has allowed an encroachment on the rights of law-abiding persons.

When a machine gun was transferred from one federally registered owner to another, the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 imposed a $200 fee on interested people. Though $200 may not seem like much in 2020, it was worth $3,867 in 1934. The government's strategy to combat the criminal element of the Gangster era, which violated the Bill of Rights enacted in 1791, was to collect tax income and register residents in order to prevent ownership of machine guns. Though the NFA's spirit appears to be good, it has resulted in increased regulatory powers for the federal government and has allowed an encroachment on the rights of law-abiding persons are 34 years old

Two homicides have been perpetrated with lawfully owned machine guns since 1934. One of these was the murder of a police informant by an Ohio cop on September 15, 1988. Another was an alleged homicide on September 14, 1992, although there are few information available. Machine gun ownership is not a cause for concern among law-abiding persons, hence the Hughes Amendment is unnecessary. It needs to be repealed.

While many gun owners are ready to fight new restrictions on the Second Amendment, I urge readers to vote for representatives who will fight to restore and protect our gun rights. Unfortunately, when transferrable machine guns come available for sale, they sell for tens of thousands of dollars, making them out of reach for most of us. Given that a pre-'86 select-fire Colt AR-­15 today sells for more than $25,000, and certain belt-­feds fetch six figures, most transferrable machine guns are bought by a small number of people. Would these machine gun collectors be willing to risk losing money on their investments in order to see these small guns returned to the American people?