Transcription
Let's talk machine guns. Did you know that state and federal governments could transfer machine guns to us civilians? I didn't. But hold on to your hats because this is huge.
What if I told you that with the help of Gun Owners of America, West Virginia just introduced a bill that could completely upend the federal machine gun ban without repealing a single word of federal law? What if the so-called Hughes amendment isn't as airtight as they've told us for the last 40 years? And what if West Virginia just found the crack in that armor? Patriots, this is one of the most aggressive and constitutionally grounded state level Second Amendment moves I've ever seen. Let's talk about it because this has the potential to make everybody happy.
Hey everybody, Jared here. This is Guns and Gadgets, your premier source for Second Amendment news. If you care about restoring the full scope of the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, not negotiating away, not trimming it down, but restoring it, you're going to want to stay tuned to this channel and subscribe now because West Virginia's Senate Bill 1071 is not symbolic. It's strategic and it could very well be historic.
West Virginia lawmakers have introduced SB1071 1071, a measure supported and drafted by Gun Owners of America. What does it do? It authorizes, in fact, demands the creation of a state entity that would purchase and transfer machine guns to qualified law-abiding citizens pursuant to existing federal law. Specifically, it orders the state police to obtain, possess, and transfer M16s, MP5s, and M249s to civilians. It's almost like GOA called me and said, "What are your three favorite machine guns?"
Let me repeat that. This is not nullification. It's not defiance. It is not open rebellion against federal statutes. This bill works inside federal law and that's where this gets brilliant.
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All right, guys. Back to this great bill. Most people know that the 1986 machine gun ban was part of the Firearms Owners Protection Act, FOA. Now, specifically, the Hughes Amendment was codified at 18 USC 922, Firearms Owners Protection Act. That provision generally prohibits civilian possession of machine guns manufactured after May 19th of 1986. That's why transferable machine guns are so rare and so expensive. Artificially limited supply.
But here's the part almost nobody talks about. Section 922 section part two says the prohibition does not apply to quote 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. Listen to that again if you want to drill down on it. But here's the part to know carefully. Transfer to or by a state. And that language matters. And West Virginia lawmakers notice that language.
Under SB1071, West Virginia would establish state-run distribution centers. These centers would be authorized to acquire machine guns, possess them under state authority, conduct transfers by the state to qualified members of the public. And that argument is simple. If federal law exempts transfers to or by a state and if the state conducts the transfer, then the transaction falls within the statutory exemption. This is statutory construction 101. They're not pretending 922 doesn't exist. They're using that to their advantage. They're using its own language. It's like legislative jiu-jitsu.
For nearly 40 years, Americans have been told the machine gun ban is permanent. It can't be undone. It's settled law. But Congress wrote the exemption into the statute. And words when it comes to law matter. If the federal government wanted to prohibit all civilian machine gun transfers, they could have written it that way, but they didn't. And now West Virginia and gun owners of America are testing that language.
This isn't just statutory gamesmanship. The supporters of SB1071 are grounding this in American history. Let's go back to the founding era, Militia Act 1792. It required able-bodied males to equip themselves with arms suitable for militia service. It's still on the books, by the way. The government didn't restrict parody. They expected it. Throughout American history, federal and state governments have sold surplus military arms to civilians. Springfield rifles, M1 Garands, even automatic weapons during certain periods. The founders did not envision a permanently disarmed citizenry. They envisioned a population capable of militia service, meaning militarygrade arms. If the militia is compromised of the people and the people are expected to serve, then the people must possess arms suitable for that service. That is the historical understanding of the Second Amendment. You want to learn more about that, follow my federalist papers series.
Now, the Second Amendment doesn't protect sporting rifles. It protects arms. And in Heller, the Supreme Court made clear that arms include weapons in common use for lawful purposes. Now, here's the debate. Are machine guns dangerous and unusual? Or are they dangerous but common military arms, precisely the type the militia clause contemplates? Now, that question has never been fully resolved in the post Brewan era, and SB1071 could force that confrontation.
Eric Pratt of Gun Owners of America made it clear. He said, "For decades, Americans have been told the 1986 ban permanently stripped access to modern arms, but Congress included an explicit exemption for transfers to or by a state and that language matters." My buddy Chris Stone, GOA's director of state affairs, emphasize the same thing. The plain text of section 922 does not apply to transfers conducted by a state. This isn't rhetoric. It's not it's not making this stuff up. It's textualism. This is the same methodology that courts claim to apply. Now, a state is putting that to the test and West Virginia is probably the best place in the country to test it.
This is where it gets really interesting. Under our constitutional system, states retain sovereign authority. If a state structures an action within federal statutory language, the federal government would have to either argue that the exemption doesn't mean what it plainly says or the statute itself is unconstitutional. This kind of is going to put the Department of Justice in in a in a pinch here. Either path opens litigation and litigation opens opportunity.
Let's be realistic. Like if FSB1071 passes and is implemented, it will be challenged. The ATF will not quietly accept this and Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice will have to decide, do they really support the Second Amendment? Like they say, are there really the most pro-2A Department of Justice in the history of the earth? Or do they really want to strip Americans of their Second Amendment rights? They will likely argue that Congress never intended civilian machine gun access through state intermediaries, but courts did not interpret intent. They interpret text and the text says what it says, transfer to or by a state. And this could become one of the most important Second Amendment cases of our lives.
There's a phrase that Gun Owners of America used that I think is critical here. Restore parody between citizens and the government. That is uncomfortable language for some people, but the founders were not uncomfortable with that. The militia was the people. The people were the security of a free state and the right to keep and bear arms was not about duck hunting. It was about the balance of power, the final check on a government that could become tyrann tyrannical. And if the government has arms suitable for infantry and the people are the militia, then the militia must not be categorically banned from those arms. That is the philosophical argument behind the bill.
Now, let's be honest, this is bold. West Virginia is not trimming around the edges. They're not tweaking magazine limits. They're not adjusting background check forms. They're directly challenging the post 1986 machine gun status quo. And they're doing it using the federal law itself. Now, that takes legislative courage.
If this survives the initial legal challenges, you could see a domino effect. Other pro-2A states could adopt the exact same frameworks. And if if that works, guys, this this could be how it ends. Like this is a laboratory of liberty and that's how federalism works. One state tests the theory and if it stands, others replicate it. For 40 years, Americans have been told the doors closed. West Virginia just reached for the handle. Whether it fully opens or triggers a Supreme Court showdown, we will see. But this is not fringe. It's not reckless. It is rooted in statutory text. It is grounded in the history of this country and it is anchored in the original understanding of the militia. The second amendment was never meant to preserve a hobby. It was meant to preserve a free state and free states are not built on permission slips.
If you believe states should defend the Constitution instead instead of waiting for Washington to do it. If you believe that the text of the law actually matters and if you believe that the Second Amendment means what it says, hit the subscribe button right now and share this video because this fight is moving to the states. And West Virginia just fired the opening shot. And if you if you want to know more, I will keep you updated every step of the way. So, hit the subscribe button, join Gun Owners of America if you haven't already. This alone is worthy of your support. skip a pizza and send that $25 to Gun Owners of America. The link is in the description of every single video I do. You can join Goa through that link and you can even save some money on your subscription. I don't get the money. It just gives you a discount because you saw it here. And I always ask that you send that money right back to them. Until next time, stay safe, stay vigilant, stay armed, and stay free. This could be the one. Take care, y'all.
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