There’s a new push in Congress to end the government-enforced financial chokehold on private machine gun ownership. The Firearm Freedom Act would eliminate the legacy Hughes Amendment that bars the purchase, ownership, and transfer of newly manufactured machine guns made after 1986. 

This current law effectively bans any reasonable ownership of a machine gun without extreme financial cost due to an ever-dwindling supply of such heirloom firearms.

Republican Rep. Jimmy Patronis of Florida introduced the act last Friday, just before the long Memorial Day holiday recess. The move marks the first time legislation has been introduced to entirely remove the Hughes Amendment from law.

According to a press release from Congressman Petronis’ office, the Firearm Freedom Act would:

• Repeal the Hughes Amendment’s ban on machine guns.
• Restore lawful access for responsible American gun owners.
• Refocus federal firearm enforcement on criminals and illegal gun trafficking, not responsible gun owners.

“For years, Washington bureaucrats and the radical Left have tried to chip away at the constitutional rights of hardworking Americans,” said Congressman Patronis. “The Firearm Freedom Act sends a clear message that we will defend the Constitution, stand up for law-abiding gun owners, and protect the freedoms that make America exceptional. I’ll never back down from fighting for the Second Amendment.”

Notably, the original Hughes Amendment was a last-minute, bootleg move to change the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act of 1986. Done by an unrecorded voice-vote in the eleventh hour to avoid scrutiny, the amendment has since plagued would-be machine gun owners. Overnight, the Hughes Amendment turned once-ubiquitous firearms into precious metals.

Over time, the cost of machine guns has only gone up, as fewer firearms find their way to sale or auction – the latter being common, given even entry-level costs can easily soar past $10,000.

“For 40 years, Congress has kicked this fight down the road,” said Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America. “The Firearms Freedom Act of 2026 is one of the most important Second Amendment bills introduced in a generation, and Gun Owners of America is proud to endorse it. The Hughes Amendment was unconstitutional the moment it became law, and it’s long past time to repeal it. We’re calling on every pro-gun member of Congress to cosponsor this bill immediately and to demand a vote in the House.” 

The news comes on the tail end of West Virginia and Kentucky now exploring their own state-based sales systems for machine guns as an alternative workaround to nullify the Hughes Amendment. Meanwhile, Texas’ new Freedom from Taxes Act proposes to drop the NFA taxes on machine guns and destructive devices, along with the tax paid by licensed dealers for such items.