The Hughes Amendment
The Hughes Amendment is a significant piece of United States federal legislation affecting the regulation of firearms. Enacted in 1986, this amendment was part of the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA), which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.
Historical Context
The amendment was introduced by Representative William Hughes from New Jersey. It was a last-minute addition to the FOPA, which was initially intended to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners by rolling back some of the more restrictive elements of the Gun Control Act of 1968. However, the Hughes Amendment had the opposite effect by:
- Banning the manufacture, transfer, and possession of fully automatic firearms, or machine guns, that were not already registered before May 19, 1986.
Details of the Amendment
The key provisions of the Hughes Amendment include:
- Manufacturing Ban: No new machine guns can be manufactured for civilian use. Only those machine guns lawfully possessed or registered with the National Firearms Act (NFA) before the cutoff date could be legally owned by civilians.
- Transfer Restrictions: Existing machine guns could still be transferred among civilians who have undergone the necessary background checks and paid the required tax stamp under the NFA.
- Grandfathering: Firearms that were legally owned before the amendment's passage were "grandfathered" in, allowing their continued possession by their owners.
Impact and Controversy
The Hughes Amendment created a divide in the firearms community:
- Some gun rights advocates argue that it infringes on Second Amendment rights, as it limits the types of firearms that can be legally owned by civilians.
- Proponents of the amendment claim it helps control the proliferation of weapons most commonly associated with criminal activities and increases public safety by reducing the availability of fully automatic weapons.
The amendment has led to:
- An increase in the value of pre-1986 machine guns due to their scarcity.
- Continued debate over the rights of citizens to own fully automatic firearms and the interpretation of the Second Amendment.
Legal Challenges
There have been several legal challenges to the Hughes Amendment:
- Various lawsuits have argued that the amendment violates the Second Amendment rights of citizens. However, these challenges have generally not resulted in the amendment being overturned.
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