Arms ban with the removal of serial numbers is unconstitutional - the United States judges
A federal judge in West Virginia has ruled a federal ban on serial number guns unconstitutional, the first such ruling since the US Supreme Court dramatically expanded gun rights in June.
US District Judge Joseph Goodwin found in Charleston on Wednesday that the law does not comply with the United States "historic firearms regulation tradition," the new standard set by the Supreme Court in its landmark ruling.
The decision came in a criminal case in which a man named Randy Price was accused of illegally possessing a gun with the serial number found in his car removed. The judge dismissed the charge, although Price remains charged with illegally possessing a weapon after being convicted of previous crimes.
Price's attorney, Lex Coleman, called the decision "thoughtful, thoughtful, and meticulous." A spokesman for Charleston's office of US Attorney William Thompson, which is trying the case, said the office was "reviewing the ruling and evaluating options."
The relevant federal law prohibits anyone from transporting a handgun with the serial number removed across state lines or possessing such a gun if transported across state lines.
Serial numbers, first required by the Federal Arms Control Act of 1968, are intended to prevent illegal gun sales and make it easier to solve crimes by allowing individual guns to be traced.
Price argued that the law was unconstitutional in light of the Supreme Court's June 24 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc v. Bruen. This provision stated that under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, the government could not restrict the right to possess firearms unless the restriction accorded with historical tradition.
Bruin said serial numbers were not required when the Second Amendment was adopted in 1791 and were not widely used until 1968, which put them outside that tradition.
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