House Bill No. 6945
               House Bill No. 6945

               PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-56


AN ACT CONCERNING THE ALTERATION OF FIREARM SERIAL
NUMBERS.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Section   1.  Section  29-36  of  the  general
statutes  is  repealed  and   the   following   is
substituted in lieu thereof:
    (a)  No  person shall REMOVE, DEFACE, alter [,
remove] or obliterate the name  of  any  maker  or
model  or  any  maker's  number  or  other mark of
identification on any [pistol or revolver] FIREARM
AS DEFINED IN SECTION 53a-3. The possession of any
[pistol  or  revolver]  FIREARM  upon  which   any
identifying mark, number or name has been REMOVED,
DEFACED, altered [, removed] or obliterated  shall
be  prima facie evidence that the person owning or
in possession of such [pistol or revolver] FIREARM
has  REMOVED,  DEFACED,  altered  [,  removed]  or
obliterated the same.
    (b)  ANY  PERSON WHO VIOLATES ANY PROVISION OF
THIS SECTION SHALL BE  FINED  NOT  MORE  THAN  ONE
THOUSAND  DOLLARS OR IMPRISONED NOT MORE THAN FIVE
YEARS  OR  BOTH  AND  ANY  FIREARM  FOUND  IN  THE
POSSESSION  OF  ANY  PERSON  IN  VIOLATION OF SAID
PROVISION SHALL BE FORFEITED.
    Sec.  2.  Subsection  (a)  of section 29-37 of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
    (a)  [Any  person  violating  any provision of
section 29-36 shall be fined  not  more  than  one
thousand  dollars or imprisoned not more than five
years or both, and any] ANY person  violating  any
provision of section 29-28 or 29-31 shall be fined
not more than five hundred dollars  or  imprisoned
not  more than three years or both, and any pistol
or revolver found in the possession of any  person
in  violation  of  any of said provisions shall be
forfeited.

Approved May 14, 1997