Law Against Possession of Unserialized Gun Ruled Unconstitutional in West Virginia

AmmoLand ^ | October 17, 2022 | Dean Weingarten

[Wilhelm Tell]

Maybe it is a scheme to ban old guns or make it illegal to replace the barrel. They have to have thought of all the ways they can make things difficult for ordinary citizens and trip them up on a technicality that becomes a “felony” - that is really the point of this.

[Still Thinking]

And what about guns that never had a serial number in the first place?? If you own one of them, legally, then when they pass this law, if you don’t go engrave one, you’re committing a crime by omission? Or guns you build yourself? If the law is that it has to have a serial number (unique to the maker, not the world), then I recommend “1”. Or “42” cause, you know, it’s the meaning of life and stuff.

[zeugma]

This decision pretty much couldn’t be anything else with Gruen as precident. Thanks for the link to the decision itself!

[marktwain]

An important point is the federal law against possession of a firearm with a defaced/removed serial number did not exist before 1990.

It is a very recent law.

[zeugma]

It helps to determine the date of manufacture if you’re a collector or there is a recall and there are recalls.

Yup. One of the few legitimate purposes of serial numbers. This could be accomplished as well by placing a manufacturing date or otherwise note manufacture date. Zippo has used a number of systems over the years to identify when a particular lighter was made.