Kentucky became the second state to put forth a measure to legally transfer machine guns to qualified citizens with the introduction of House Bill 749 by Representative TJ Roberts, on February 25.
Rep. Roberts announced this bill on X, stating, “Law-abiding Kentuckians should be able to own any type of firearm they choose (including machine guns), as this is our constitutional right.”
Similarly to the West Virginia measure which was introduced just two days earlier, on February 23, the Kentucky bill was supported by Gun Owners of America.
“Kentuckians should not have to beg permission from bureaucrats to exercise a fundamental right. We applaud Rep. Roberts for leading from the front, and we also thank the bill’s primary co-sponsors Rep. Steve Doan and Rep. Ryan Dotson for standing with Kentucky gun owners,” said GOA in a statement on their site.
HB 749 establishes the Office of Public Defense under the Kentucky State Police, headed by a director who reports to the state police commissioner. The bill directs the office to:
- Acquire and transfer to qualified persons machine guns for the defense of the Commonwealth and its people;
- Prioritize to the extent practicable purchases of machine guns from manufacturers and dealers located in the Commonwealth of Kentucky;
- Establish, maintain, and operate warehouses and distribution stations, using existing Department of Kentucky State Police personnel, infrastructure, and posts to the extent possible;
- Verify the eligibility of qualified persons to purchase machine guns through the use of a background check conducted in the same manner as provided in KRS 237.110(3);
- Report to the Governor annually, and at other times as the Governor may require, concerning the condition, management, and financial transactions of the office;
The bill also explicitly states that machine guns available to citizens have to be the same as those available to law enforcement, a measure that flies in the face of every gun control act which exempts police from prohibitions applied to other citizens:
Machine guns acquired and transferred by the office under Sections 1 to 10 of this Act shall be the same as, or of like kind to, those machine guns currently in use by law enforcement or the United States Armed Forces, and shall include but not be limited to AR-15/M16-platform, M249-type, and MP5-type machine guns.
Should the bill pass, citizens would amusingly be able to buy machine guns directly from their local state police post:
“Machine guns shall be made available for sale and transfer at each Department of Kentucky State Police post.”
