An Act To Prohibit Untraceable and Undetectable Firearms
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1569
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: RECKITT, CARNEY, COLLINGS, HEPLER, JORGENSEN, MASTRACCIO, MORALES, NADEAU, SCHNECK

Legislative Document
No. 1569
H.P. 1131
House of Representatives, April 16, 2019
An Act To Prohibit Untraceable and Undetectable Firearms
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative RECKITT of South Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: CARNEY of Cape Elizabeth, COLLINGS of Portland, 
HEPLER of Woolwich, JORGENSEN of Portland, MASTRACCIO of Sanford, MORALES of 
South Portland, NADEAU of Winslow, SCHNECK of Bangor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  25 MRSA §§2015 to 2017 are enacted to read:
§2015.  Undetectable firearms prohibited
1.  Undetectable firearm defined.  As used in this section, "undetectable firearm" 
means a firearm that can operate while in a form that is not detectable as a security 
exemplar, as defined in 18 United States Code, Section 922(p)(2)(C).
2.  Penalty for manufacture, import, sale or transfer of undetectable firearm.  A 
person that manufactures or causes to be manufactured within this State, that imports into 
this State or that offers, exposes for sale, sells or transfers an undetectable firearm 
commits a Class C crime.
3.  Penalty for possession of undetectable firearm.  A person who knowingly 
possesses an undetectable firearm commits a Class D crime.
4.  Penalty for possession of undetectable firearm in courthouse.  A person who 
knowingly possesses an undetectable firearm in a courthouse or who possesses an 
undetectable firearm with the intent to bring that firearm into a courthouse commits a 
Class C crime.
§2016.  Untraceable firearms prohibited
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Additive manufacturing" means a manufacturing process in which material is 
added in order to produce a product, including, but not limited to, 3-dimensional 
printing, in which layers of material are laid down in succession.
B.  "Downloadable gun" means a firearm manufactured or produced using additive 
manufacturing.
C.  "Downloadable gun code" means digital instructions in the form of computer-
aided design files or other code or instructions stored and displayed in electronic 
format as a digital model that may be used to manufacture or produce a firearm, 
firearm receiver, magazine or firearm component using additive manufacturing.
D.  "Serialization" means placing a serial number on a firearm frame or receiver in 
accordance with the procedures for the serialization of a firearm in 18 United States 
Code, Section 923(i) and all regulations issued pursuant to that section, including, but 
not limited to, 27 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 478.92.
E.  "Serial number" means a unique identifying number.
F.  "Unfinished frame or receiver" means a frame or lower receiver blank, casting or 
machined body that requires further machining or molding to be used as part of a 
functional firearm and is designed and intended to be used in the assembly of a 
functional firearm.  "Unfinished frame or receiver" does not include a piece of 
material that has had its size or external shape altered solely to facilitate 
transportation or storage or has had only its chemical composition altered.
G.  "Untraceable firearm" means a downloadable gun without a serial number or a 
firearm manufactured, assembled or produced without serialization using an 
unfinished frame or receiver.
2.  Penalty for manufacture, possession, assembly, import, sale or transfer of 
untraceable firearm.  A person who knowingly possesses, manufactures or assembles or 
causes to be manufactured or assembled within this State, imports into this State or offers, 
exposes for sale, sells or transfers an untraceable firearm commits a Class D crime.
3.  Penalty for manufacture, import, sale or transfer of downloadable gun; 
exception.  A person who manufactures or causes to be manufactured within this State, 
imports into this State or offers, exposes for sale, sells or transfers a downloadable gun 
commits a Class D crime unless:
A.  The person has a federal license to manufacture firearms;
B.  The name of the manufacturer and an individual serial number is conspicuously 
placed on the frame or receiver; and
C.  The person maintains records relating to the downloadable gun in accordance 
with the procedures for record keeping related to firearms in 18 United States Code, 
Section 923(g) and all regulations issued pursuant to that section, including, but not 
limited to, 27 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 478, Subpart H.
4.  Penalty for importation, sale or transfer of unfinished frame or receiver; 
exception.  A person who imports into this State or offers, exposes for sale, sells or 
transfers an unfinished frame or receiver commits a Class D crime unless:
A.  The person is a federally licensed firearm dealer;
B.  The name of the manufacturer and a serial number is conspicuously placed on the 
unfinished frame or receiver;
C.  The person applies for and receives a certification from the chief law enforcement 
officer in accordance with the procedures specified in section 2013 for the sale of a 
firearm; and
D.  The person maintains records relating to the unfinished frame or receiver in 
accordance with the procedures for record keeping related to firearms in 18 United 
States Code, Section 923(g) and all regulations issued pursuant to that section, 
including, but not limited to, 27 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 478, Subpart H.
5.  Penalty for possession of unfinished frame or receiver that is not serialized; 
exception.  A person who knowingly possesses an unfinished frame or receiver that is not 
serialized commits a Class D crime unless:
A.  The person has a federal license to manufacture firearms; and
B.  The unfinished frame or receiver is an unfinished part within a manufacturing 
process that includes serialization.
6.  Penalty for distribution of or making accessible downloadable gun code; 
exception.  A person who distributes downloadable gun code to another person or makes 
downloadable gun code available such that it can be accessed and downloaded by another  
person commits a Class D crime unless:
A.  The distribution is to a specific individual;
B.  The distributor requests that the chief law enforcement officer provide a 
certification as to the person receiving the downloadable gun code in accordance with 
the procedures specified in section 2013 for the transfer of a firearm and receives the 
certification;
C.  The distributor maintains records relating to the downloadable gun code in 
accordance with the procedures for record keeping related to firearms in 18 United 
States Code, Section 923(g) and all regulations issued pursuant to that section, 
including, but not limited to, 27 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 478, Subpart H; 
and
D.  The firearm for which the downloadable gun code provides instructions is not 
prohibited under state or federal law, including, but not limited to, prohibitions on 
undetectable firearms.
§2017.  Legislative intent regarding restrictions on undetectable or untraceable 
firearms and downloadable gun code
The Legislature finds that undetectable and untraceable firearms are a danger to the 
residents of this State.  The Legislature finds that the restrictions imposed on undetectable 
firearms pursuant to section 2015, on untraceable firearms pursuant to section 2016 and 
on the dissemination of downloadable gun code pursuant to section 2016 are necessary to 
ensure that undetectable and untraceable firearms, as defined in sections 2015 and 2016, 
respectively, are clearly prohibited in the State, except as specifically provided.  The 
Legislature further finds that these restrictions are necessary to discourage and prevent 
the dissemination of firearms that are undetectable in metal detectors and other security 
screening devices, that are untraceable due to the lack of a serial number or other form of 
required firearm identification and that can readily be possessed by those who may not be 
legally able to do so under existing federal and state laws.  The Legislature finds that the 
restrictions imposed pursuant to sections 2015 and 2016 are necessary to prevent the 
widespread possession of these dangerous weapons before they become a prevalent 
problem in this State and a threat to the health and well-being of the residents of this 
State.
SUMMARY
This bill regulates the manufacture, distribution and possession of so-called ghost 
guns and so-called 3-D printed guns or 3-D guns, which are fully functioning firearms 
that can be made at home by unlicensed firearm manufacturers, sellers and distributors 
either by purchasing the necessary parts separately, or as part of mail order gun kits, and 
then assembling them at home or by downloading a computer code from the Internet that 
allows the user to manufacture the gun using a 3-D printer.  This bill provides definitions 
of "undetectable firearm" and "untraceable firearm" and prohibits the manufacture, 
import, sale, transfer and possession of such firearms with certain exceptions.  This bill 
also prohibits, with certain exceptions, the dissemination of downloadable gun code from 
which untraceable firearms can be manufactured.