Kenneth Paul Gott v. United States

Appellant was indicted and convicted at jury trial on a one-count indictment which charged him with violating 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (c) in that, on or about November 29, 1969, he willfully and knowingly possessed a firearm which had been made in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5822 .

26 U.S.C. §§ 5822 and 5861(c) were enacted by Congress as part of the Gun Control Act of 1968 which was passed subsequent to Haynes v. United States, 390 U.S. 85 , 88 S.Ct. 722 , 19 L.Ed.2d 923 (1968), for the purpose of amending the National Firearms Act to eliminate the provisions which the Supreme Court held objectionable in Haynes . The Gun Control Act became effective on November 1, 1968.

Appellant’s sole contention on appeal is that the government failed to prove one essential element of the offense as charged in the indictment — that the firearm in question violated Section 5822 in that it was made or transferred to appellant without the requisite registration subsequent to the effective date of Section 5822. Appellant argues that if the gun had been made or transferred prior to November 1, 1968, it could not have violated Section 5822 as that section had not yet become effective. We agree.

The…