Possession Of Unregistered Firearm

Title 26, U.S.C., Sec. 5861(d), makes it a Federal crime or offense for anyone to possess certain kinds of firearms which are not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

A person can be found guilty of that offense only if all of the following facts are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:

First: That the person possessed a "firearm; and

Second: That the "firearm" was not then registered to the person in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

It is not necessary for the Government to prove that the person knew that the item described in the indictment was a "firearm" which the law requires to be registered. What must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt is that the person knowingly possessed the item as charged, that such item was a "firearm", and that it was not then registered to the person in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.