Pro-gun activists are lobbying Congress to repeal a 1968 gun-grab law that made it virtually illegal to own a fully automatic firearm. Under the 1986 Hughes Amendment, fully automatic weapons manufactured since May 19, 1986 are illegal to own.
Unsurprisingly, the amendment does nothing to prevent crime. Since 1934 only two people have been killed by fully automatic firearms, one of whom was killed by a police officer. The only thing the amendment prevents is the full exercise of a constitutionally protected right.
Repeal of the amendment seems unlikely — but if millions of Americans were to demand it, Congress could be forced to act.