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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana Senate Bill 16 makes possessing ghost guns and removing serial numbers a Level 5 felony
Last action · December 8, 2025: First reading: referred to Committee on Corrections and Criminal LawSponsor: Lonnie Randolph
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What This Bill Proposed
Beginning July 1, 2026, Indiana makes it a to possess a or a firearm with altered or removed identification marks. The measure defines specific legal terms for firearm s and s to establish prohibitions against untraceable weapons lacking commercial serial numbers.
Residents who assemble or possess firearms lacking commercial serial numbers face felony criminal penalties starting in July 2026.
- Senate Bill 16 was introduced for the Second Regular Session of the 124th Indiana General Assembly in 2026. context
- The bill was authored by Senator Lonnie Randolph and referred to the Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law upon introduction. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
firearm owners
Firearm owners face new criminal prohibitions and felony penalties for possessing certain un-serialized weapons or weapons with altered identification marks.
Key Facts
- Defines a 'privately made firearm' as a weapon or frame/receiver produced without a valid federal firearms license or without a serial number placed by a licensed manufacturer at the time of production.
- Excludes firearms registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record or manufactured before October 22, 1968, unless remanufactured later.
- Defines 'frame' and 'receiver' based on the specific weapon components housing the firing sequence mechanisms.
- Prohibits removing, obliterating, or altering manufacturer serial numbers, model numbers, or other identification marks on any firearm.
Show all 8 facts
- Prohibits the possession of any firearm with altered, obliterated, or removed identification marks.
- Prohibits the knowing or intentional possession of a privately made firearm.
- Makes the violation of these prohibitions a Level 5 felony.
- Sets the effective date of the provisions as July 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is considered a privately made firearm under this bill?
What are the penalties for violating these rules?
Are older firearms exempt from these rules?
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in Senate committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Dec 8, 2025SenateIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law
- Dec 8, 2025SenateAuthored by Senator Randolph Lonnie M
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 80)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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