Conn. Crim. Jury Instr. 8.2-10

frame or lower receiver of a firearm -- § 53-206j (c)

(1)

The defendant is charged [in count__] with the sale, delivery or transfer of an unfinished frame

or lower receiver of a firearm.

The statute defining this offense reads in pertinent part as follows:

No person shall sell, deliver or otherwise transfer an unfinished frame or lower

receiver that does not have a unique serial number or other mark of identification,

obtained pursuant to the serial numbering program of the federal Bureau of Alcohol,

Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or from the Connecticut Department of

Emergency Services and Public Protection. Such unique serial number or other mark

of identification shall be engraved upon or permanently affixed to the unfinished

frame or lower receiver in a manner that conforms with the requirements imposed on

licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms under federal law.

For you to find the defendant guilty of this charge, the state must prove the following elements

beyond a reasonable doubt:

Element 1 – Sell, deliver or otherwise transfer an unfinished frame or lower receiver

The first element is that the defendant sold, delivered or otherwise transferred an unfinished

frame or lower receiver. The terms “sold, delivered or otherwise transferred” are to be given

their common meanings. An “unfinished frame or lower receiver” means a blank, casting or

machined body intended to be turned into the frame or lower receiver of a firearm with

additional machining, and which has been formed or machined to the point where most major

machining operations have been completed to turn the blank, casting or machined body into a

frame or lower receiver of a firearm, even if the fire-control cavity area of such blank, casting or

machined body is still completely solid and unmachined.

1 A “firearm” means any sawed-off

shotgun, machine gun, rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver or other weapon, whether loaded or

unloaded, from which a shot may be discharged.2

Element 2 – No unique serial number or other mark of identification engraved upon or

permanently affixed to the unfinished frame or lower receiver

The second element is that the unfinished frame or lower receiver did not have a unique serial

number or other mark of identification engraved upon or permanently affixed to it in a manner

that conforms with the requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers

of firearms under federal law. The statute provides two alternative means for obtaining a unique

serial number or other mark of identification.

3 The first is through the serial numbering program

of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The second is through the

Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. The state bears the

burden of proving that the unfinished frame or lower receiver that the defendant sold, delivered

or otherwise transferred did not have a unique serial number or other mark of identification,

obtained from either of these agencies, engraved upon or permanently affixed to it in a manner

that conforms with the requirements imposed on licensed importers and licensed manufacturers

of firearms pursuant to federal law.4 <tailor charge to specific allegations>

Conclusion

In summary, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that 1) the defendant sold, delivered

or otherwise transferred an unfinished frame or lower receiver and 2) the unfinished frame or

lower receiver did not have a unique serial number or other mark of identification engraved upon

or permanently affixed to it in a manner that conforms with the requirements imposed on

licensed importers and licensed manufacturers of firearms pursuant to federal law.

If you unanimously find that the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements

of the crime of sale, delivery or transfer of an unfinished frame or lower receiver of a firearm,

then you shall find the defendant guilty. On the other hand, if you unanimously find that the

state has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements, you shall then find the

defendant not guilty.

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1 General Statutes § 53-206j (i).

2 General Statutes § 53-206j (i) incorporates the definition of “firearm” in General Statutes §

53a-3 (19).

3 General Statutes § 53-206j (c).

4 General Statutes § 53-206j (c) (3) references 18 U.S.C. § 923 (i), as may be amended from time

to time, and any regulations adopted thereunder, as governing the requirements for engraving or

affixing unique serial numbers or identification marks.