FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) – A Kentucky lawmaker has introduced legislation that would allow the state to transfer machine guns to residents through a program run by Kentucky State Police.
House Bill 749, sponsored by Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, would create the Office of Public Defense within Kentucky State Police to manage the sale and transfer of machine guns. Under the proposal, each state police post would act as a point of sale and transfer.
Roberts said the measure would establish a legal pathway for law-abiding Kentuckians to obtain military-style weapons that are generally too expensive for most buyers.
“If you want a machine gun manufactured post 1986 right now, you’re going to break the law to do it,” Roberts said.
He pointed to the Hughes Amendment to federal law as the legal foundation for the program, arguing that it allows state governments to transfer machine guns to private citizens.
“This was not a cause unknown to the founding fathers. That our society is better protected when its citizens are responsibly and well armed,” Roberts said.
Roberts also said the bill could generate revenue for the state. Transfer fees and market-rate sales of the weapons would go directly to state coffers.
“In order to acquire these machine guns, there is a transfer fee. There is the ability to sell them at a market rate,” Roberts said.
He added that the proposal would be revenue-positive and could help reduce Kentucky’s reliance on income tax revenue.
It remains unclear how much support the bill has in the legislature. Roberts described the measure as a conversation starter about gun rights.
The Whitney Strong Organization, which promotes responsible gun ownership in Kentucky, said it has not yet reviewed the bill and declined to comment at this time.
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