A coalition of 23 Attorneys General representing 21 states, the District of Columbia and the Northern Mariana Islands filed an amicus brief supporting a federal ban on the possession of firearms from which serial numbers have been removed.
This is in response to a Federal District Court judge’s ruling earlier this year that a law criminalizing such guns is unconstitutional.
In a press release from the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, the AGs participating in the brief represent the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington. All are Democrats.
The case is known as United States v. Price, now in the U.S. Fourth District Court of Appeals. In October, District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin—relying on language in last summer’s Bruen decision by the Supreme Court—wrote, “Firearms with no serial number are just as ‘bearable’ as the same firearm with a serial number, and there is no “common use” issue here as the presence or lack of a serial number makes no difference with respect to whether the type of weapon is commonly used. Finally, I can find no authority for the idea that a firearm without a serial number would meet the historical definition of a dangerous or unusual firearm. In fact, as the Government points out, the commercial requirement that a serial number be placed on a firearm “does not impair the use or functioning of a weapon in any way.” The mechanics of the firearm—with or without a serial number—are the same.
“A firearm without a serial number in 1791 was certainly not considered dangerous or unusual compared to other firearms because serial numbers were not required or even commonly used at that time “ Judge Goodwin continued. “While I recognize there is an argument, not made by the Government here, that firearms with an obliterated serial number are likely to be used in violent crime and therefore a prohibition on their possession is desirable, that argument is the exact type of means-end reasoning the Supreme Court has forbidden me from considering.”
In the press release, James stated, “Serial numbers are common-sense tools to track dangerous weapons and help keep guns out of the hands of bad actors. Declaring this gun safety measure unconstitutional could have dangerous impacts on the vast majority of American states, including here in New York. I am proud to stand with my fellow attorneys general in this bipartisan effort to protect American lives. So long as I am Attorney General, my office will always push for gun safety measures and efforts to remove weapons of war from New York communities.”
However, in his ruling, Judge Goodwin noted, “Serial numbers were not broadly required for all firearms manufactured and imported in the United States until the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968.”
