Filed-Off Serial Numbers

A man could not lawfully buy pistols himself, so he paid others to buy them for him in another state. Those buyers lied on the purchase forms. He said he would file off the serial numbers, and resold the guns on street corners in drug areas. The evidence showed he knew he was breaking the law. But nothing showed he knew of the specific federal rule that gun dealers must hold a licence. The law punishes only those who 'willfully' deal without a licence. He says willfully means knowing that very rule.