Court Okays Scratching Out Serial Numbers On Guns

Slate reports:

For decades, federal law has forbidden gun owners from scratching out the serial numbers that manufacturers are legally required to place on firearms. The reason is obvious: These serial numbers help state and federal law enforcement trace guns that are used in crimes and identify suspected shooters.

Indeed, the only apparent reason anyone would remove a serial number is to avoid becoming a suspect after their gun is used illegally. On Wednesday, however, a federal judge ruled that the law prohibiting alteration of serial numbers violates the Second Amendment.

Why? Because serial numbers were virtually nonexistent when the amendment was ratified in 1791, so the government has no power to mandate them today.

Read the full article. There’s much analysis at the link.

The Second Amendment protects the right to remove serial numbers because they did not exist in 1791, the judge held. https://t.co/TYEAFg8W07

— Slate (@Slate) October 14, 2022