Tony Rivera

So as we enter the homestretch 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 and Zach Maynard of West Virginia, would create the Office of Public Defense, the OPD, within the West Virginia State Police.

which would oversee the transfer of machine guns to anyone who was 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 machine guns currently in use by law enforcement and the United States Armed Forces and include but are not limited to the AR-15, M-16 platforms, M-249, and MP5s.

So 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 infantrymen.

It also claims that the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the GCA 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 of the best interest of the public to bear the, quote,

as outlined by Henry Campbell Black, who authored the Handbook of American Constitutional in 1895.

So how would this work?

Under the bill, qualifying citizens would be able to purchase machine guns at various distribution stations around the state, including every state police troop headquarter throughout the state, of which there are nine.

Firearms sold by the state in this manner will have a $250 surcharge added on to 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 OPD's operations.

An additional surcharge up to but not exceeding $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, relinquish the firearm to the state first.

The person acquiring a firearm would then pay a $275 fee to receive the firearm.

As of Wednesday, the bill, known as Senate Bill 1071, is under review by the Judiciary Committee.

Gay or gray?