1986 FOPA Act Machine Gun Restriction Never Passed?

www.youtube.com...

According to the Video and its poster on Youtube, this video shows the Senate vote concerning the Hughes Amendment of the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986. The video claims the amendment never passed the House, yet Hughes was included in the Senate version after objections noted. The Hughes amendment was the portion of the Bill, banning machine guns for civilian ownership if they were manufactured after 1986. The Hughes ban appeared in the final version of the bill, and was signed by Ronald Reagan. The video claims that the restriction is in fact illegal.

en.wikipedia.org...
(Link to FOPA on Wikipedia)

I personally am skeptical as this is 24 years old, and likely would have been subject to legal challenge in the interim. Thoughts?
PS I can't seem to get the video to embed. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Comm

reply to post by commdogg


Fully automatic weapons were already illegal at that time. Perhaps the person making this claim neglected to read the Bill and notice mention of it's relevance to existing law, or is not literate enough to figure it out.

I think this is being confused with the assault rifle ban. Those are semi-automatic weapons and often people who don't know anything about guns don't know the difference. Fully automatic has been banned since the 1930's.

When they were campaigning to ban assault weapons, the people doing it lied a lot, knowing full well a assault weapon and a hunting rifle are the same gun with a different appearance.

reply to post by Blaine91555


Fully Automatic weapons are legal today as long as they were manufactured prior to 1986. They are title II firearms, of the National Firearms Act of 1934.
National Firearms Act of 1934
To possess one you need a GCA "Tax Stamp" from the Department of Justice and must register it with the BATFE.

To own one, you must submit the proper paperwork to the BATFE, with two fingerprint cards, and two passport photos, and have a local Chief of Police or Sheriff sign it to certify there is no applicable state prohibition. You must also submit a $200.00 payment to the Department of Justice. Once it is processed and returned you may legally possess it. It is NOT against the law.
Comm

So....everyone that can still do so should get out there and pick up a squad automatic weapon if able...
There are some decent ones to choose from.
The venerable bren gun, comes in 303 and 308 nato, is a solid and accurate weapon.
There are others too, but the date has me thinking the minimi may be eligable...it comes in 223 with a belt fed or magazine fed option which allows other members of the squad to chuck magazines to the MG gunner for instant use as well as carries an assault pack of prebelted ammo of 200 rnds i believe.
Tis the best choice if available.
RPDs are pretty decent as well.

reply to post by stirling


Cool.
Except this video asserts that the 1986 rule was never carried into the final house version of the bill.
Comm

Who cares? Just buy an AK. if you ever need it fully auto, it is a 10 minute operation to remove the spring. i am going to get 3 for some "SHTF" weapons. They make good hunting rifles, you can literally manufacture your own replacement parts (with a little effort), and they are generally reliable even with little maintenance.