House OKs proposal on defaced firearms

A bill that would add a new defense to the crime of possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number cleared the House in a 76- 7 vote.

House Bill 1039 by Rep. Andy Davis, R- Little Rock, would exempt guns made before 1968 from the state’s prohibition on defaced firearms. Federal law began requiring that guns be equipped with serial numbers in 1968, although some manufacturers already had begun the practice.

Davis said his bill is necessary to prevent charges against gun owners whose weapons were defaced before doing so would have been illegal.