New Jersey ‘Defaced’ Gun Ban Upheld by State Appellate Court

Robust federal Second Amendment protections don’t extend to firearms that have had the serial numbers removed, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Monday.

New Jerseyans don’t have a constitutional right to own firearms with “obliterated or defaced” serial numbers despite recent US Supreme Court rulings broadening gun rights, New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division Judge Greta Gooden Brown said in the court’s opinion rejecting a challenge to a state restriction.

“Because it is hard to conceive of any common-sense reason why a law-abiding citizen would want to use a firearm with an obliterated or defaced serial number and there is ...