Over at Subguns.com, an accusation that politicians are registering machine guns and selling them to finance their campaigns. The whole theory seems to hinge on this:
The Hughes Amendment had an interesting side effect. If you read Chapter 18, 922 (o) it is not a ban per say but demands Government approval for the manufacture and sale of a machine gun after May 19,1986, the date of enactment. There have been rumors floating around for years that certain politicians have been registering machineguns and selling them.Â
922(o) is pretty short and sweet:
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun.
(2) This subsection does not apply with respect to—
(A) 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; or
(B) any lawful transfer or lawful possession of a machinegun that was lawfully possessed before the date this subsection takes effect.
But you can’t really just read 922(o), which is part of the United States Code, and represents an Act of Congress. You also have to look at Code of Federal Regulations Title 27, particularly 479 Subpart G, which are all the regulations promulgated by ATF under its authority granted by Congress for the purpose of registration of machineguns. There is no Congress Critter exception to the ban. It has been completely unlawful to register a fully transferrable firearm since May 19, 1986. If this is going on, it’s illegal, and people could go to jail. Color me skeptical, though.