Woah. Ok, some misinformation there.
Ok- first off, no, the NRA isnt realy a proponent of an absense of law on firearms for the most part. Even when their leadership isnt Whiskey Delta Wayne Pierre, the NRA has always supported some structure to the 2nd Amendment. I'm not sure if the NRA supported or fought the NFA of 1934, but I dont believe it fought it.
Second off, in a lot of states, Machineguns are fully legal. Including VA I believe. I know in WVA they are, I have a good friend who collects armored vehicles and wears a MAC-10 as his CCW.
The NFA of 34 made them taxable items and today there is a $200 transfer tax on any MG or other NFA weapon (SBR, silencer, ect...)
In 1986 Georgie Bush Sr. imposed a ban on further manufacture of so called "Class III" weapons for civilian consumption, however there were tens of thousands of pre-86 MGs around and there still are.
Machineguns are by no means easy to get, and due to both the tax and limited number, they're EXPENSIVE. A cheap STEN SMG that probably cost less than $10 to manufacture back during WWII, now goes for somewhere over a grand, before the transfer tax. The paperwork is long and grueling, and would remind you a lot of enlisting in the Army. The most inexpensive SMG around are the FA Cobray M11/9s, of which I own two through the miricle of a PO box and a Class III MFR in Idaho who keeps them for me. I paid a little over two grand for the pair and the transfer, which took on the order of five months, but I've been told it can go a lot faster.
I cannot take the guns home with me because my state, Washington, does not allow machineguns in any other hands than that of an LEO or military memeber. Even then its in an official capacity only, I'm an E-3 in the Army and I tried to get my unit CO to pull some strings for an Mp5 I wanted a while ago. He tried but to no avail. My entire unit is rife with fellow gun-nuts, so no one looked at me strangely when I asked, a lot of guys elsewhere arnt so lucky though.
Regards,
Ryan