Ban on Firearms With Obliterated Serial Numbers Upheld on Appeal

A law barring the possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number is valid under the Second Amendment, a Seventh Circuit panel found Wednesday.

While there’s no direct historical analogue to modern serial numbers, the statute is “loosely but relevantly similar to founding-era laws and practices requiring firearms to be marked or stamped, inventoried, and inspected in furtherance of military service or militia readiness,” wrote Senior Judge Diane Sykes of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

That means the law passes muster under the “historical tradition” test outlined in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol ...