cc-hangfire
Member
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2014
- Messages
- 589
I was musing this morning, waiting for a doctor’s appointment to roll around, when this random thought crossed my mind.
If a firearm doesn’t have a serial number, what individual component is the firearm in the eyes of the law?
I have a few old long guns - Glenfield/Marlin Model 60, J C Higgins Model 20 - that were manufactured before 1967, and they do not have serial numbers (legal at the time). If I completely disassemble my SIG P250, the small serialized frame is the firearm. But if I completely disassemble my J C Higgins shotgun, there is no firearm left. Only parts. No serial number.
Practically speaking, I bought a replacement barreled receiver for the JCHiggins, and it was treated as a firearm with the normal FFL-to-FFL shipping. So civilized people strive to obey the law (me included).
But if I possess a bag of non-serialized, disassembled parts for a complete JCHiggins 12 gage as I drive into - say - California or New Jersey, do I possess a firearm. If so, where is it? (I realize state laws may differ from federal law on the definition of firearms)
And this is what happens if I have spare time to muse!
If a firearm doesn’t have a serial number, what individual component is the firearm in the eyes of the law?
I have a few old long guns - Glenfield/Marlin Model 60, J C Higgins Model 20 - that were manufactured before 1967, and they do not have serial numbers (legal at the time). If I completely disassemble my SIG P250, the small serialized frame is the firearm. But if I completely disassemble my J C Higgins shotgun, there is no firearm left. Only parts. No serial number.
Practically speaking, I bought a replacement barreled receiver for the JCHiggins, and it was treated as a firearm with the normal FFL-to-FFL shipping. So civilized people strive to obey the law (me included).
But if I possess a bag of non-serialized, disassembled parts for a complete JCHiggins 12 gage as I drive into - say - California or New Jersey, do I possess a firearm. If so, where is it? (I realize state laws may differ from federal law on the definition of firearms)
And this is what happens if I have spare time to muse!
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