said "approximately 175,000 automatic firearms have been licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (the federal agency responsible for administration of the law) and evidence suggests that none of these weapons has ever been used to commit a violent crime." The Act mandated that ATF compliance inspections can be done no more than once per year. An exception exists if multiple record-keeping violations are recorded in an inspection, in which case the ATF may do a follow-up inspection. Reactions The bill was endorsed by the NRA. It was opposed by police organizations, including the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, Police Foundation, International Association of Chiefs of Police, Fraternal Order of Police, National Troopers Coalition, Police Executive Research Forum, National Sheriffs' Association, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, International Union of Police Associations, National Association of Police Organizations and the New York City Police Commissioner. Ban on new automatic firearms As debate for FOPA was in its final stages in the House before moving on to the Senate, Rep. William J. Hughes (D-N.J.) proposed several amendments including House Amendment 777 to H.R. 4332, which modified the act to ban the civilian ownership of new machine guns, specifically to amend to add subsection (o): (o)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to transfer or possess a machinegun. (2) This subsection does not apply with respect to— (A) a transfer to or by, or possession by or under the authority of, the United States or any department or agency thereof or a State, or a department, agency, or political subdivision thereof; or (B) any lawful transfer or lawful possession of a machinegun that was lawfully possessed before the date this subsection takes effect. On April 10, 1986, House Amendment 777 passed the House by voice vote. Despite some controversy over whether the amendment should have been given a recorded vote, the bill as a whole passed the House and the Senate, and was signed on May 19, 1986 by President Ronald Reagan to become Public Law 99-308, the Firearms Owners' Protection Act. The ATF, as a representative of the U.S. and with authority from the National Firearms Act, can authorize the transfer of a machine gun to an unlicensed civilian. An unlicensed individual may acquire machine guns, with ATF approval. The transferor must file an ATF application, which must be completed by both