There's been enough misinformation in this thread that I wanted to clarify a few things.
I'm a firearms instructor for over 10 years and I'm actually the type of NRA instructor (called a Training Counselor) that trains new NRA instructors.
(To clarify though, the NRA does not certify civilian machine gun instructors, although I believe they do have a program for law enforcement instructors).
I also own a (full-size standard) full-auto UZI. I have experience with similar submachine guns and have experience instructing people who have never fired a machine gun before. This is both with my own gun and as a range officer at a few machine gun shoots. (This is very similar to what the instructor at the range was doing)
The first thing people should realize about this kind of accident is how extraordinary rare it is. Part of the reason it got so much media attention was because it was so unusual. It's not like there's some sort of *crisis* where children are routinely killing themselves or their instructors with machine guns (or even standard firearms) all the time. It's just a little perspective to keep in mind.
Within the last 10 years or so I can think of a handful of similar incidents. One involved a young girl (8 or 9 I think) who accidently shot herself with a "Micro-Uzi" submachine gun. (More on that gun later). That is the closest to this latest incident and was five or six year ago I believe.
The second was about eight years ago when a teenage girl at a big machine gun shoot was killed when the heavy gun fell on her at the firing line. It was on a tripod and wasn't properly weighted down. That one definitely meet the criteria for "freak accident".
The third was a range officer helping run a machine gun shoot who tried to clear a malfunction in a multi-barrel "minigun." This is a Gatling Gun style gun with multiple rotating barrels. He was in front of the muzzle and rotated the barrels to try to fix a problem. He didn't know that rotating the barrels would make the top barrel fire and shot himself and died. Also a very unusual freak accident.
The range in question in the latest incident is the kind of "tourist trap" gun range that caters to more of "have a fun gun experience" type of shooting than "take a serious shooting lesson" range. That plays directly into what happened. I'm sure the range has had thousands of customers, including kids, shoot machine guns before this and they and the instructor got complacent. The false thinking of "Just because nothing bad has happened, means nothing bad will happen," played a role.
The range, and the instructor, made several critical mistakes. It's not so much that she was 9 as it is that they didn't properly evaluate what someone of her size and experience could handle and made poor choices.
The first bad decision was the actual gun she was shooting. Although it's being called an "UZI" it's actually a different gun called a "Mini-Uzi." The difference is significant. An standard UZI is eight pounds and fires at a rate of about 600 rounds per minute. (That is how fast it works in theory, without counting reloading. The mags hold 25 to 32 rounds)
At eight pounds with a relatively slow 600 round rate of fire, a standard full-size UZI is actually pretty controllable. It is firing 9mm rounds and the weight really helps. It's most easily controllable in short bursts of 2 to 5 rounds.
The gun she was shooting, the Mini Uzi, is a different gun entirely. It was designed to be lighter and smaller than the original. It weighs about 6 pounds and fires at about 950 rounds per minute. So, because it is lighter, and fires faster, it is MUCH more difficult to control. It's a huge difference. The Micro Uzi (which was used in the incident where the girl killed herself) is lighter yet and fires about 1200 rounds per minute.
The full size, standard UZI, is actually pretty controllable and I would have no problem considering having a 9 year old shoot the gun. I'd have to evaluate the specific 9 year old though to judge her size and strength and, even if I thought she could handle it, I would have followed different procedures than the instructor at that range.
I would never let a child, or teen, fire a Mini Uzi (the gun in this case) or especially a Mirco Uzi (the gun in the other incident) unless they were already experienced shooters and had previous experience with machine guns. At a tourist trap range? No.
The first thing the instructor did wrong (after the initial bad gun choice) was where he stood. He was next to her, not behind her, and there was no way for him to control the gun once it got away from her. If he stood behind her he could have controlled her arms without placing himself in danger.
He also went from having her fire a single shot on "Semi" to flipping the switch to "Full" with a full mag loaded. I would have limited that first mag to five rounds. She would have fired two on "Semi" and, if she did OK, then flipped the switch to "Auto" and let her fire those last three all at once. That would have prevented the gun rising up like that, even if she couldn't control it. Only then would I consider letting her shoot a full mag.
Again, I'm just describing how this could have been safely. There was a chain of bad decisions here but it's not as simple as "OMG KIDS SHOULDN'T SHOOT MACHINE GUNS" or even worse "OMG KIDS SHOULDN'T SHOOT ANY GUNS" (which is where the discussion has gone in other places).
They aren't, unless you go through a massive amount of red tape, have a special license, and also pay a fee that's upwards of $20K.
Ok, this is not accurate. Here's the rundown on legal machine gun ownership in the United States. Note that both Federal and state laws apply.
State laws - Most states allow private citizens to own machine guns as long as they also follow state law. Some states do prohibit machine gun ownership entirely.
Even in the states that prohibit private citizen machine gun ownership ATF licensed machine gun dealers and/or machine gun manufacturers can possess machine guns to sell or demonstrate to the police and military. (Because, if a police department wants to buy machine guns, there has to be a legal way for someone to sell them to the department).
Federal law - The first thing to understand about Federal laws regarding machine gun ownership is that the Federal government will approve a private citizen to own a machine gun ONLY if it is also legal under their state law.
Assuming the state in question allows private citizen machine gun ownership the procedure is relatively straightforward with a few complications.
The buyer has to find a machine gun to buy and pay a deposit to the seller. The buyer then fills the paperwork with the ATF to receive permission to possess the machine gun. As part of this procedure the buyer submits fingerprints, the ATF conducts a background check, and the buyer submits a single $200 payment for the "Transfer tax" to have the machine gun transferred to him. This is called a "Form 4" transfer.
Note that the this "Form 4" transfer includes a one-time tax payment of $200. That's all there is. You do not need a mythical "Class 3 license" or have to pay "thousands of dollars in fees." This $200 tax is on each machine gun you buy.
The one catch in this process is that the buyer also has to get their local "Chief law enforcement officer" (police chief or Sheriff typically) to sign the paperwork saying they no of no reason the applicant can't legally own a machine gun. The problem is the police chief is not required to sign the form and some have a policy of not ever signing such a form.
If the buyer can't get a local "chief LEO" to sign the form they can form a Corporation or a trust to own the machine gun. They still pay the $200 tax for that gun, but don't have to get the "cheif LEO signoff" is that is not required for Corporations or trusts. The cost to set up a trust or Corporation for this reason is typically a couple hundred dollars.
So, you see there really aren't "thousands of dollars" in fees involved in machine gun ownership. The real expense lies in the cost of the guns themselves.
In 1986 Federal law changed so that private citizens can ONLY own those machine guns that were manufactured AND registered with the ATF prior to May 1986. This has limited the supply of legally registered machine guns and driven up prices over time. Currently, a UZI runs about $10,000 to $13,000.
In addition to private ownership of machine guns, there are also ATF licensed machine gun dealers and manufacturers and dealers. These licenses do cost more, about $500 and $1000 yearly, with other paperwork required.
The advantage of being a machine gun dealer or manufacturer is that those enities can own machine guns made after 1986 as "post samples" to demonstrate to law enforcement agencies and/or the military. These guns are less expensive as they can only be owned by dealers, law enforcement or the military. This license is intended for actual business use and not for people to enhance their collection.