By: Friedrich Seiltgen
Copyright © 2022
U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin of West Virginia has ruled that a federal ban on possessing a gun with its serial number removed is unconstitutional!
Goodwin blocked a federal law that prohibits the possession of a firearm with an “altered, obliterated, or removed” serial number due to the Supreme Court’s ruling in June expanding gun rights. Goodwin ruled that no historical standard exists to show that firearms without a serial number are more dangerous than those with a serial number. He further stated that a firearm without a serial number in 1791 was not any more dangerous or unusual than another firearm because numbers weren’t used at that time.
The judge stated that his ruling simply abides by the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which struck down a New York law that placed additional limits on who can carry a firearm outside of their home.
In the Bruen case, Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion, stating that “regulations on firearms should be consistent with historical patterns of firearm regulation.”
The left fought back using the excuse that the regulation is commercial and does not prohibit the right to keep and bear arms. In response, Goodwin ruled that the regulation is not ‘simple’ because it criminalizes possession of the un-serialized firearm.
At the end of the day, Goodwin’s ruling states that, because serial numbers came about in the last century, they are not in line with the Second Amendment.
That’s all for now folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism Counterstrategies, Firearms and Active Shooter Response. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, www.floridajolt.com, The Counterterrorist Magazine, American Thinker, Soldier of Fortune, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International. Contact him at [email protected].