OPINION OF THE COURT
SCIRICA, Circuit Judge.
This appeal presents a single issue, whether Defendant Michael Marzzarella's conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(k) for possession of a handgun with an obliterated serial number violates his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. We hold it does not and accordingly will affirm the conviction.
I.
In April 2006, the Pennsylvania State Police were notified by a confidential informant that Marzzarella was involved in the sale of stolen handguns. On April 25, the confidential informant arranged a purchase of handguns from Marzzarella. The next day, State Trooper Robert Toski, operating in an undercover capacity, accompanied the informant to Marzzarella's
On June 12, 2007, Marzzarella was indicted for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, in violation of § 922(k).
After the denial of the motion to dismiss the indictment, Marzzarella entered a conditional guilty plea, reserving the right to appeal the constitutionality of § 922(k). The District Court sentenced him to nine months imprisonment. Marzzarella now appeals.
II.
The Second Amendment provides: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." U.S. Const. amend. II. To determine whether § 922(k) impermissibly burdens Marzzarella's Second Amendment rights, we begin with Heller.
As we read Heller, it suggests a two-pronged approach to Second Amendment challenges. First, we ask whether the challenged law imposes a burden on conduct falling within the scope of the Second Amendment's guarantee. Cf. United States v. Stevens, 533 F.3d 218, 233 (3d Cir.2008), aff'd ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 1577, 176 L.Ed.2d 435 (recognizing the preliminary issue in a First Amendment challenge is whether the speech at issue is protected or unprotected).
A.
Our threshold inquiry, then, is whether § 922(k) regulates conduct that falls within the scope of the Second Amendment. In other words, we must determine whether the possession of an unmarked firearm in the home is protected by the right to bear arms. In defining the Second Amendment, the Supreme Court began by analyzing the text of the "operative clause," which provides that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Heller, 128 S.Ct. at 2789-90. Because "[c]onstitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when the people adopted them," id. at 2821, the Court interpreted
But the right protected by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.
Moreover, the Court identified several other valid limitations on the right similarly derived from historical prohibitions. Id. at 2816-17.
Id. The Court explained that this list of "presumptively lawful regulatory measures" was merely exemplary and not exhaustive. Id. at 2817 n. 26.
We recognize the phrase "presumptively lawful" could have different meanings under newly enunciated Second Amendment doctrine. On the one hand, this language could be read to suggest the identified restrictions are presumptively lawful because they regulate conduct outside the scope of the Second Amendment. On the other hand, it may suggest the restrictions are presumptively lawful because they pass muster under any standard of scrutiny. Both readings are reasonable interpretations, but we think the better reading, based on the text and the structure of Heller, is the former—in other words, that these longstanding limitations are exceptions to the right to bear arms.
This reading is also consistent with the historical approach Heller used to define the scope of the right. If the Second Amendment codified a pre-existing right to bear arms, id. at 2797, it codified the pre-ratification understanding of that right, id. at 2821 ("Constitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when the people adopted them. . . ."). Therefore, if the right to bear arms as commonly understood at the time of ratification did not bar restrictions on possession by felons or the mentally ill, it follows that by constitutionalizing this understanding, the Second Amendment carved out these limitations from the right. Moreover, the specific language chosen by the Court refers to "prohibitions" on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill. Id. at 2816-17. The endorsement of prohibitions as opposed to regulations, whose validity would turn on the presence or absence of certain circumstances, suggests felons and the mentally
Accordingly, Heller delineates some of the boundaries of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
But Heller did not purport to fully define all the contours of the Second Amendment, id. at 2816 ("[W]e do not undertake an exhaustive historical analysis today of the full scope of the Second Amendment. . . ."), and accordingly, much of the scope of the right remains unsettled. While the Second Amendment clearly protects possession for certain lawful purposes, it is not the case that all possession for these purposes is protected conduct. For example, although the Second Amendment protects the individual right to possess firearms for defense of hearth and home, Heller suggests, and many of our sister circuits have held, a felony conviction disqualifies an individual from asserting that interest. See 128 S.Ct. at 2816-17; United States v. Rozier, 598 F.3d 768, 770 (11th Cir.2010) ("We find 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) to be constitutional, even if a felon possesses a firearm purely for self-defense."), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 3399, 177 L.Ed.2d 313 (2010); see also United States v. Vongxay, 594 F.3d 1111, 1118 (9th Cir.2010); United States v. Anderson, 559 F.3d 348, 352 (5th Cir.2009), cert. denied, 129 S.Ct. 2814 (2009). This is so, even if a felon arguably possesses just as strong an interest in defending himself and his home as any law-abiding individual.
Moreover, Heller's list of presumptively lawful regulations is not exhaustive, 128 S.Ct. at 2817 n. 26, and accordingly, the
Section 922(k)'s prohibition of the possession of firearms with "removed, obliterated, or altered" serial numbers is one of those regulations unmentioned by Heller. Marzzarella argues § 922(k) is unconstitutional because the Second Amendment categorically protects the right to possess unmarked firearms. Heller defined the Second Amendment by looking to what the right meant at the time of ratification. 128 S.Ct. at 2798-99. Because the Second Amendment protects weapons "of the kind in common use at the time," id. at 2815 (quoting Miller, 307 U.S. at 179, 59 S.Ct. 816), it must, says Marzzarella, protect firearms in common use at the time of ratification. He alleges that firearms in common use in 1791 did not possess serial numbers. Accordingly, he contends the Second Amendment must protect firearms without serial numbers.
We are not persuaded by Marzzarella's historical syllogism. His argument rests on the conception of unmarked firearms as a constitutionally recognized class of firearms, in much the same way handguns constitute a class of firearms. That premise is unavailing. Heller cautions against using such a historically fact-bound approach when defining the types of weapons within the scope of the right. 128 S.Ct. at 2791 ("Some have made the argument, bordering on the frivolous, that only those arms in existence in the 18th century are protected by the Second Amendment. We do not interpret constitutional rights that way."). Moreover, Marzzarella himself asserts that serial numbers on firearms did not exist at the time of ratification.
Furthermore, it also would make little sense to categorically protect a class of weapons bearing a certain characteristic wholly unrelated to their utility. Heller distinguished handguns from other classes of firearms, such as long guns, by looking to their functionality. Id. at 2818 (citing handguns' ease in storage, access, and use in case of confrontation). But unmarked firearms are functionally no different from marked firearms. The mere fact that some firearms possess a nonfunctional characteristic should not create a categorically protected class of firearms on the basis of that characteristic.
Although there is no categorical protection for unmarked firearms, Marzzarella's conduct may still fall within the Second Amendment because his possession of the Titan pistol in his home implicates his interest in the defense of hearth and home—the core protection of the Second Amendment. While the burden on his ability to defend himself is not as heavy as the one involved in Heller, infringements on protected rights can be, depending on the facts, as constitutionally suspect as outright bans. See United States v. Playboy Entm't Group, Inc., 529 U.S. 803, 812, 120 S.Ct. 1878, 146 L.Ed.2d 865 (2000) ("It is of no moment that the statute does not impose a complete prohibition. The distinction between laws burdening and laws banning speech is but a matter of degree."). Marzzarella contends that by preventing him from possessing this particular handgun in his home, § 922(k) unconstitutionally limited his ability to defend himself.
We are skeptical of Marzzarella's argument that possession in the home is conclusive proof that § 922(k) regulates protected conduct. Because the presence of a serial number does not impair the use or functioning of a weapon in any way, the burden on Marzzarella's ability to defend himself is arguably de minimis. Section 922(k) did not bar Marzzarella from possessing any otherwise lawful marked firearm for the purpose of self-defense, and a person is just as capable of defending himself with a marked firearm as with an unmarked firearm. With or without a serial number, a pistol is still a pistol. Furthermore, it cannot be the case that possession of a firearm in the home for self-defense is a protected form of possession under all circumstances. By this rationale, any type of firearm possessed in the home would be protected merely because it could be used for self-defense. Possession of machine guns or short-barreled shotguns—or any other dangerous and unusual weapon—so long as they were kept in the home, would then fall within the Second Amendment. But the Supreme Court has made clear the Second Amendment does not protect those types of weapons. See Miller, 307 U.S. at 178, 59 S.Ct. 816 (holding that short-barreled shotguns are unprotected); see also United States v.
It is arguably possible to extend the exception for dangerous and unusual weapons to cover unmarked firearms. "[T]he Second Amendment does not protect those weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes. . . ." Heller, 128 S.Ct. at 2815-16. The District Court could not identify, and Marzzarella does not assert, any lawful purpose served by obliterating a serial number on a firearm. Because a firearm with a serial number is equally effective as a firearm without one, there would appear to be no compelling reason why a law-abiding citizen would prefer an unmarked firearm. These weapons would then have value primarily for persons seeking to use them for illicit purposes. See United States v. Carter, 421 F.3d 909, 910 (9th Cir.2005) (noting that unmarked firearms have a "greater flexibility to be utilized in illicit activities" (alteration and internal quotation marks omitted)); cf. United States v. Tagg, 572 F.3d 1320, 1326 (11th Cir.2009) (finding no Second Amendment protection for pipe bombs because they could not be used for legitimate lawful purposes); State v. Chandler, 5 La. Ann. 489, 489-90 (1850) (holding concealed weapons could be prohibited because of their tendency to be used in violent crimes on unsuspecting victims). Nevertheless, a handgun with an obliterated serial number seems distinct from a weapon like a short-barreled shotgun. While a short-barreled shotgun is dangerous and unusual in that its concealability fosters its use in illicit activity, it is also dangerous and unusual because of its heightened capability to cause damage. See United States v. Amos, 501 F.3d 524, 532 (6th Cir.2007) (McKeague, J., dissenting) ("With its shorter barrel, a sawed-off shotgun can be concealed under a large shirt or coat. It is the combination of low, somewhat indiscriminate accuracy, large destructive power, and the ability to conceal that makes a sawed-off shotgun useful for only violence against another person. . . ."); see also United States v. Upton, 512 F.3d 394, 404 (7th Cir.2008) (likening sawed-off shotguns to "other dangerous weapons like bazookas, mortars, pipe bombs, and machine guns"). An unmarked firearm, on the other hand, is no more damaging than a marked firearm.
Accordingly, while the Government argues that § 922(k) does not impair any Second Amendment rights, we cannot be certain that the possession of unmarked firearms in the home is excluded from the right to bear arms. Because we conclude § 922(k) would pass constitutional muster even if it burdens protected conduct, we need not decide whether Marzzarella's right to bear arms was infringed.
B.
Assuming § 922(k) burdens Marzzarella's Second Amendment rights, we evaluate the law under the appropriate standard of constitutional scrutiny. Heller did not prescribe the standard applicable to the District of Columbia's handgun ban. 128 S.Ct. at 2817-18. Instead, it held that "[u]nder any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights [the ban] . . . would fail constitutional muster." Id. (footnote omitted).
The Government argues a rational basis test
Marzzarella, on the other hand, contends we must apply strict scrutiny
If the Second Amendment can trigger more than one particular standard of scrutiny, § 922(k) should merit a less stringent standard than the one that would have applied to the District of Columbia's handgun ban. While it is not free from doubt, we think this means that § 922(k) should be evaluated under intermediate scrutiny. The burden imposed by the law does not severely limit the possession of firearms. The District of Columbia's handgun ban is an example of a law at the far end of the spectrum of infringement on protected Second Amendment rights. Heller, 128 S.Ct. at 2818 ("Few laws in the history of our Nation have come close to the severe restriction of the District's handgun ban."). It did not just regulate possession of handguns; it prohibited it, even for the stated fundamental interest protected by the right—the defense of hearth and home. Id. But § 922(k) does not come close to this level of infringement. It leaves a person free to possess any otherwise lawful firearm he chooses— so long as it bears its original serial number.
Furthermore, the legislative intent behind § 922(k) was not to limit the ability of persons to possess any class of firearms. While the intent of the District of Columbia's ban was to prevent the possession of handguns, § 922(k) permits possession of all otherwise lawful firearms. As Congress indicated with respect to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968—which included § 922(k)'s predecessor:
S. Rep. 90-1097, at 28 (1968), reprinted in 1968 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2112, 2114. Section 922(k) is designed to prohibit possession of only unmarked firearms, while leaving the possession of marked firearms untouched.
Because § 922(k) was neither designed to nor has the effect of prohibiting the possession of any class of firearms, it is more accurately characterized as a regulation of the manner in which persons may lawfully exercise their Second Amendment rights. The distinction between limitations on the exercise of protected conduct and regulation of the form in which that conduct occurs also appears in the First Amendment context. Discrimination against particular messages in a public forum is subject to the most exacting scrutiny. See Turner Broad. Sys., Inc. v. FCC, 512 U.S. 622, 642, 114 S.Ct. 2445, 129 L.Ed.2d 497 (1994). Regulations of the manner in which that speech takes place, however, receive intermediate scrutiny, under the time, place, and manner doctrine. See Ward, 491 U.S. at 791, 109 S.Ct. 2746. Accordingly, we think § 922(k) also should merit intermediate, rather than strict, scrutiny.
In the First Amendment speech context, intermediate scrutiny is articulated in several different forms. See Turner Broad. Sys., 512 U.S. at 662, 114 S.Ct. 2445 (requiring the regulation serve "an important or substantial" interest and not "burden substantially more speech than is necessary" to further that interest (internal quotation marks omitted)); Bd. of Trs. of State Univ. of N.Y. v. Fox, 492 U.S. 469, 480, 109 S.Ct. 3028, 106 L.Ed.2d 388 (1989) (requiring a "substantial" governmental goal and a "reasonable fit" between the
Those requirements are met here. First, we think it plain that § 922(k) serves a law enforcement interest in enabling the tracing of weapons via their serial numbers. Section 922(k) was enacted by the Gun Control Act of 1968, Pub.L. No. 90-618, 82 Stat. 1213, 1221.
Section 922(k) also fits reasonably with that interest in that it reaches only conduct creating a substantial risk of rendering a firearm untraceable. Because unmarked weapons are functionally no different
Although we apply intermediate scrutiny, we conclude that even if strict scrutiny were to apply to § 922(k), the statute still would pass muster. For a law to pass muster under strict scrutiny, it must be "narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest." FEC v. Wis. Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 465, 127 S.Ct. 2652, 168 L.Ed.2d 329 (2007). We presume the law is invalid, and the government bears the burden of rebutting that presumption. Playboy Entm't Group, 529 U.S. at 817, 120 S.Ct. 1878.
While First Amendment jurisprudence has articulated a comprehensive doctrine around what can and cannot be a compelling interest for restrictions on speech, see, e.g., Eugene Volokh, Freedom of Speech, Permissible Tailoring and Transcending Strict Scrutiny, 144 U. Pa. L.Rev. 2417, 2419-21 (1996), Second Amendment jurisprudence is not yet so developed. As we discussed above, serial number tracing serves a governmental interest in enabling law enforcement to gather vital information from recovered firearms. Because it assists law enforcement in this manner, we find its preservation is not only a substantial but a compelling interest. See United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 749, 107 S.Ct. 2095, 95 L.Ed.2d 697 (1987) (holding that the government interest in preventing crime is compelling).
Marzzarella would have us conclude that serial number tracing is not a genuine compelling interest because current federal law does not mandate an intensive enough registration and tracing system to always provide a picture of the entire chain of custody of a recovered firearm. If a regulation fails to cover a substantial amount of conduct implicating the asserted compelling interest, its underinclusiveness can be evidence that the interest is not significant enough to justify the regulation. See Carey v. Brown, 447 U.S. 455, 465, 100 S.Ct. 2286, 65 L.Ed.2d 263 (1980); see also Fla. Star v. B.J.F., 491 U.S. 524, 541-42, 109 S.Ct. 2603, 105 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989) (Scalia, J., concurring) ("[A] law cannot be regarded as protecting an interest of the highest order . . . when it leaves appreciable damage to that supposedly vital interest unprohibited." (citation and internal quotations marks omitted)). As Marzzarella points out, firearms are normally traceable only to the first retail purchaser.
We see no reason to view serial number tracing so narrowly. The direct tracing of the chain of custody of firearms involved in crimes is one useful means by which serial numbers assist law enforcement.
Section 922(k) must also be narrowly tailored to serve that interest. Narrow tailoring requires that the regulation actually advance the compelling interest it is designed to serve. See Eu v. S.F. County Democratic Cent. Comm., 489 U.S. 214, 226, 109 S.Ct. 1013, 103 L.Ed.2d 271 (1989). The law must be the least-restrictive method of serving that interest, and the burdening of a significant amount of protected conduct not implicating the interest is evidence the regulation is insufficiently tailored. See Ashcroft v. ACLU, 542 U.S. 656, 666, 124 S.Ct. 2783, 159 L.Ed.2d 690 (2004). Section 922(k) restricts possession only of weapons which have been made less susceptible to tracing. Because it does not limit the possession of any otherwise lawful firearm, it does not burden more possession than necessary to protect the interest in serial number tracing.
Marzzarella argues § 922(k) is overinclusive and, therefore, fails narrow tailoring. Because in certain cases—such as Marzzarella's—it is possible through laboratory procedures to discern the original serial number of a firearm despite efforts to remove, obliterate, or alter it, he contends § 922(k) goes further than is required. Presumably, Marzzarella believes the overinclusiveness could be cured by applying § 922(k) only where, upon recovery of the firearm and subsequent laboratory testing, the serial number still cannot be read.
III.
Second Amendment doctrine remains in its nascency, and lower courts must proceed deliberately when addressing regulations unmentioned by Heller. Accordingly, we hesitate to say Marzzarella's possession of an unmarked firearm in his home is unprotected conduct. But because § 922(k) would pass muster under either intermediate scrutiny or strict scrutiny, Marzzarella's conviction must stand.
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the District Court's denial of Marzzarella's motion to dismiss the indictment and affirm his judgment of conviction and sentence.
FootNotes
We recognize the words "removed," "obliterated," and "altered" may denote distinct actions. See United States v. Carter, 421 F.3d 909, 912-13 (9th Cir.2005) (detailing the difference in the ordinary meanings of "obliterated" and "altered" in U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(4)). Because the disposition of this case does not turn on their distinctions, we use these terms, as well as the term "unmarked," interchangeably.
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