Va. has most registered machine guns in US

Virginia leads the nation in the number of legally owned machine guns that are fully automatic, according to federal figures.There were 30,220 registered fully automatic machine guns in Virginia as of March. Florida had the second-highest total with 29,128, followed by California with 28,774. Nationally, there were nearly 500,000 registered machine guns, according to an annual report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.Virginia State Police keep a separate registry of machine gun owners but spokeswoman Corinne Geller said a breakdown of the information is not readily available.Federal law defines a machine gun as any weapon that will repeatedly fire more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger."Why do we have so darn many in Virginia? Who knows?" said Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.
Experts say several factors could be at play, including an increased use of military-style equipment by police departments and a large population of retired military personnel who might own machine guns as collector items.There also is the fun factor, for those who can afford the weapons, which sell for $10,000 or more."They are a blast to shoot," said Philip Van Cleave, president of the pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League."They are a hell of a lot of fun. Shooting a gun is fun anyway, and this just magnifies it."Fully automatic weapons are rarely used to commit crimes, Schrad and others said.
Requirements for owning and selling the weapons are more stringent than for other firearms.Prospective owners must submit photographs and fingerprints for a registry maintained by the ATF.Machine disorder is not a pretty sight.They also must submit a signed statement by the chief law enforcement officer in the locality where they live, stating there is no indication the machine gun would be used illegally.Gun dealers must have a special license from the federal government to sell machine guns."Machine guns actually are a really good example of why strong gun laws work," said Daniel Vice, senior attorney with the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.Cases involving illegal machine guns are uncommon, said Brian McGinn, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office for Western Virginia.
"Sometimes if you're in a good position that's when you have to turn your head around," Hayward said. "They're going to call pass interference if you're not in good position. So when you're in good position you try to turn your head around and locate the ball when the ball is coming to you."Hayward said two things helped him make the play. One was looking at Givens' eyes and the other was seeing the Rams' bench react as the ball came down along their sideline."I just ran with him," Hayward said. "He ran a 9-route, a go-route about 15, 20 yards down the field. I tried to locate the ball. Their sideline may have been giving me the heads up."Hayward did more than just pick off a pass. When he gave up a completion, he closed on it quickly and when he had to make a tackle in the open field, he did.House got off to a very good start, but during garbage time got beat for a couple of completions, including a 3-yard touchdown.