When the FBI Comes Calling…®

TRAFFICKING IN ILLICIT ARMS (continued)

Definition
Under 18 U.S.C. § 921, a firearm is any weapon which may expel a projectile by the action of an explosion, the frame or receiver of such a weapon, any firearm muffler or silencer, or any destructive device. A destructive device is any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas, bomb, grenade, rocket, missile, mine, or similar device; any type of weapon (other than a shotgun) which may expel a projectile by the action of an explosion, and which has a barrel with a bore diameter of more than one-half inch; any combination of parts designed or intended for use in converting any device into a destructive device. Antique rifles and other things intended solely for recreational or cultural purposes are not included within these definitions.

The Punishment
Whoever knowingly violates 18 U.S.C. sect; 922(a)(4) or (k), knowingly violates section 922(l), or willfully violates any other provision of 18 U.S.C. § § 921 et seq., will be

  • fined, imprisoned not more than five years, or both. 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1).

Whoever knowingly violates section 922(a)(6), (d), (g), (i), or (j), will be

  • fined, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both. Id. § 924(a)(2).

Whoever has the intent to engage in or promote conduct that—

  • is punishable by the Controlled Substances Act, the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, or the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act;
  • violates any law of a State relating to any controlled substance; or
  • constitutes a crime of violence
and smuggles or knowingly brings into the United States a firearm or attempts to do so, shall be fined, imprisoned for up to 10 years, or both. Id. § 924(k)

Case Law Interpreting Sections 922 and 924
Because so many of the provisions say things like "knowingly" or "willfully," it is important to clear up what the government must prove about the defendant's state of mind. In United States v. Miller, 105 F.3d 552 (9th Cir. 1997), the government did not need to prove that the defendant "knew the firearm had traveled in interstate commerce. … [T]he § 924(a) knowledge requirement applies only to the possession element of § 922(g)(1), not to the interstate nexus or to felon status. … Thus, while [the defendant] needed to know that he possessed the firearm, which was the criminal act, the Government did not need to show that [he] knew the weapon had traveled in interstate commerce." Miller at 555.

Likewise, the government must prove for a conviction under section 922(g)(1) (felon in possession of a weapon) that

  1. the defendant previously had been convicted of a felony;
  2. he possessed a firearm; and
  3. the firearm traveled in or affected interstate commerce. United States v. Guidry, 406 F.3d 314, 318 (5th Cir. 2005).
To prove that a firearm traveled in interstate commerce, the government need only "demonstrate[] that the firearm was manufactured out of the state"; it can even, as in Guidry be manufactured in a different country to satisfy that element. Id.

Trafficking in Arms Continued-->