FELONIZING POSSESSION OF FILED-OFF SERIAL NUMBERS AWAITS FUNDING

Measure would keep untraceable guns out of the hands of criminals

AUGUSTA –  A measure increasing the penalty for criminals possessing an untraceable, defaced serial number was sent to the so-called “special appropriations table,” where it will be considered by the Appropriations Committee for funding.

Sen. Anne Haskell of Portland

The bill, LD 1160, “An Act To Make Possession of a Firearm with an Altered or Obscured Serial Number a Class C Crime,” would make possession of a firearm with an altered or obscured serial number a felony in Maine.

“As the law currently stands, there is little disincentive for criminals who a commit a crime with a stolen gun,” said Senator Anne Haskell of Portland, the sponsor of the bill. “It is time the penalty for obliterating a serial number on a firearm more accurately reflect the seriousness of the offense.”

The bill received broad support and strong backing from the Maine Chief of Police Association.

During the hearing, it was noted that Maine law enforcement has begun seeing a dramatic increase in the number of criminal suspects from large East coast cities, particularly New York, coming to Maine and engaging in criminal behavior. Some of these suspects are in possession of firearms, reasonably believed to be stolen or otherwise ill-gotten, with defaced serial numbers making it impossible to charge and convict these suspects for receiving stolen property because it cannot be established where the guns came from.

“I think this bill addresses a critical public safety oversight in our current law,” said WIlliam Baker, former Maine Police Chief, Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Safety, and Assistant Director of Police Training at the US Department of Justice. “It would seem that gun owners and law enforcement can unite around a bill that would help keep untraceable guns out of the hands of criminals.”

Because the bill, LD 1160, “An Act To Make Possession of a Firearm with an Altered or Obscured Serial Number a Class C Crime” establishes new Class C and Class E crimes and additional fines may be collected, the bill may impact General Fund revenue by minor amounts and therefore must go to the “special appropriations table” for funding consideration.