West Virginia could sell its residents machine guns under new bill
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As we enter the home stretch of the West Virginia Legislature, two senators have introduced a bill that would allow the state to sell firearms to its citizens.
Under a new bill filed on Monday by Senators Chris Rose (R-Monongalia) and Zack Maynard (R-Lincoln), West Virginia would create the Office of Public Defense (OPD) within the West Virginia State Police, which would oversee the transfer of machine guns to anyone who is able to purchase and possess firearms within West Virginia.
Firearms that would be distributed under the bill are listed to be “the same as, or of like kind to, those machineguns currently in use by law enforcement or the United States Armed Forces” and include, but are not limited to:
- AR-15/M16-platform firearms
- M249-type firearms
- MP5-type firearms
Is this legal?
While we won’t claim to be experts on United States law, we can tell you some of the laws and court rulings that the bill cites in an effort to make its case to the legislature.
The bill claims that its intention is to interpret the Second Amendment to “guarantee armament parity between the American citizen and government infantryman.” It also claims that the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968 allow state governments to “transfer” machine guns to law-abiding citizens.
Expanding upon those two texts, the bill claims that since law enforcement officers and military members already use firearms themselves, it would be in the best interest of the public to bear the “arms of modern warfare,” as outlined by Henry Campbell Black, who authored Handbook of American Constitutional Law in 1895.
How would distribution work?
Under the bill, qualifying citizens would be able to purchase machine guns at various distribution stations around the state, including at every State Police Troop Headquarters throughout the state, of which there are nine.
Firearms sold by the state in this manner will have a $250 surcharge added onto the price of the firearm, according to the bill. This charge will go toward the Public Defense Fund, another entity created by the bill that would fund the OPD’s operations. Additional surcharges, up to $50, may also be added if deemed necessary to offset operational costs.
The bill also outlines methods for transferring machine guns between citizens. Under the bill, if anyone who receives a machine gun from the state wishes to transfer it to someone else, they must go to an OPD location and relinquish the firearm to the state first. The person acquiring the firearm would then pay a fee of $275 to receive the firearm.
As of Wednesday, the bill, known as Senate Bill 1071, is under review by the Judiciary Committee.
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