Many states have their own requirement for the registration of machine guns. Typically, once a machine gun has been acquired after BATFE has issued a tax stamp in the transfer and registration process, a machine gun owner must then register a machine gun with the state police immediately after taking possession of the firearm. Maryland requires a machine gun owner to re-file and pay a fee for machine gun registrations annually. Virginia has a single registration to be submitted to the State Police within 24 hours after taking possession of a machine gun. It is crucial for machine gun owners to confirm whether they must obey such requiremens following the issuance of a tax stamp by BATFE.
Arsenal Attorneys will be returning to the Virginia House of Delegates to support various pieces of proposed legislation concerning firearms. We will also address an overlooked area requiring clarification and reform: registration of machine guns by a trust. In a recent advisory opinion (#13-083), former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli speculated the Virginia Uniform Machine Gun Act allowed registration of machine guns by a "firm, partnership, association or corporation," but his statement argued this broad definition did not include trusts.
For years, the Virginia State Police has approved the registration of machine guns by trusts. BATFE, like gun owners, relied on that policy to complete the transfer of machine guns using trusts in Virginia.
An advisory opinion by a Virginia Attorney General has been called by one academic as "an extra-judicial form of advice-giving"* for officials leading state agencies. An advisory opinion might be viewed as constructive or persuasive, but it does not necessarily have the force of law.
Arsenal Attorneys will be clarifying the status of completed, pending, and future machine gun registrations as well as determining a course of action in advising clients and in promoting any necessary reform.
* Long, Kevin L. "Distinctive Competence: The Role of Virginia Attorney General Opinions in State and Local Governance." October 2004: Center for Public Administration and Policy, Blacksburg, VA.
