For nearly 40 years, the Hughes Amendment has prohibited the civilian transfer of any machine gun manufactured after 1986. There are only a few exceptions to the federal statute, but Gun Owners of America thinks it’s found a way average citizens to legally get their hands on a full-auto firearm.
The “Hughes Amendment” or post-86 machinegun ban actually exempts transfers “by.. a State.”
So theoretically any state can create an agency to sell machineguns to law-abiding citizens.
Bonus: government transfers are exempt from the NFA’s $200 tax. https://t.co/hisUi6oSmn pic.twitter.com/OobsSX75ep
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) February 23, 2026
That theory could soon be put to the test, thanks to a bill introduced in the West Virginia Senate.
SB 1071 is meant, at least in part to “guarantee armament parity between the American citizen and government infantryman.” The bill’s authors maintain that “together, the Second Amendment and Article III, Section 22 [of the West Virginia Constitution] guarantee the right of the people to keep and bear the ‘arms of modern warfare’ for the defense of themselves and the State,” including “the sorts of portable, bearable machineguns that currently are in common use by law enforcement in this State and military units nationwide.”
SB 1071 would establish a statewide Office of Public Defense within the West Virginia State Police, with the superintendent of the State Police serving as the office’s director.
The Director may, in his discretion, acquire pursuant to this Act additional types of Machineguns beyond those identified in this section, which are in common use by the military or law enforcement, and which the Director finds are useful to protecting the security of a free State. In acquiring Machineguns pursuant to this Act, the Office shall, to the extent practicable, prioritize purchases of machineguns from manufacturers and dealers located within West Virginia.
Under the legislation, each headquarters of the West Virginia State Police would serve as points of sale and transfer of machine guns, with buyers having to undergo a background check using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the West Virginia criminal history record responses, and the National Interstate Identification Index.
Now, in order to remain in compliance with federal law the buyer would still have to pay the $200 transfer tax required under the National Firearms Act as well as submit the required Form 4 paperwork to the ATF, but on its surface SB 1071 does appear to comply with the NFA and the Hiughes Amendment.
WV is just the first step. Let SB 1071 be a roadmap for every other pro-gun state:
✅Create an “Office of Public Defense”
✅OPD acquires machineguns to sell
✅West Virginians can buy & transfer machinegunsJoin us in restoring the right to own machineguns! https://t.co/hisUi6oSmn
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) February 23, 2026
The only hiccup I can see (at least from a legal perspective), is that Section 922(o) states that “a transfer to or by, or possession by or under the authority of, the United States or any department or agency thereof or a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof” is exempt from the Hughes Amendment. SB 1071 explicitly states that the transfer would be under the authority of the Office of Public Defense, but doesn’t say anything about whether the transferee’s possession of a post-86 machine gun would also be done under the authority of that office.
The bigger challenge, I suspect, is going to be convincing lawmakers to get on board with this plan. Introducing the bill in West Virginia is a smart move by GOA, given that it may very well be home to the most 2A-friendly legislature in the country. If there’s anywhere in the country where this plan might have enough political support to become law, it’s West Virginia.
On the other hand, if West Virginia lawmakers can’t get SB 1071 across the finish line, I don’t think there’s much of a chance for any other state to do so either.
Still, I think the experiment is worth the effort, and a perfect counter to Democrats in states like Minnesota who are trying to put gun owners behind bars for five years just for possessing a 20-round magazine or a semi-automatic rifle they deem an “assault weapon.”
SB 1071 has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary committee, and we’ll be keeping an eye out for any hearings scheduled for the legislation. In the meantime, West Virginia Second Amendment supporters should be contacting their senators and urging them to sign on as co-sponsors to the Public Defense and Provisioning Act… and 2A advocates across the country should be asking their own state reps and senators to introduce similar legislation where they live.
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