(1) A person commits the offense of possession of a sawed-off firearm if the person knowingly possesses a rifle or shotgun that when originally manufactured had a barrel length of:
- (a) 16 inches or more and an overall length of 26 inches or more in the case of a rifle; or
- (b) 18 inches or more and an overall length of 26 inches or more in the case of a shotgun; and
- (c) the firearm has been modified in a manner so that the barrel length, overall length, or both, are less than specified in subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b).
- (2) The barrel length is the distance from the muzzle to the rear-most point of the chamber.
(3) This section does not apply to firearms possessed:
- (a) by a peace officer of this state or one of its political subdivisions;
- (b) by an officer of the United States government authorized to carry weapons;
- (c) by a person in actual service as a member of the national guard;
- (d) by a person called to the aid of one of the persons named in subsections (3)(a) through (3)(c);
- (e) for educational or scientific purposes in which the firearms are incapable of being fired;
- (f) by a person who has a valid federal tax stamp for the firearm, issued by the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives; or
- (g) by a bona fide collector of firearms if the firearm is a muzzleloading, sawed-off firearm manufactured before 1900.
- (4) A person convicted of the offense of possession of a sawed-off firearm shall be fined not less than $200 or more than $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than 5 days or more than 6 months, or both, upon a first conviction. If a person has one or more prior convictions under this section or one or more prior felony convictions under a law of this state, another state, or the United States, the person shall be fined an amount not to exceed $1,000 or be imprisoned in the state prison for a term not to exceed 5 years, or both.
History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 334, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1717, Ch. 56, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 275, L. 2017.