{"id":7549,"date":"2023-10-27T15:40:47","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T15:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portal.bluetogold.com\/?p=7549"},"modified":"2026-09-17T06:41:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:41:16","slug":"running-firearm-serial-number-during-traffic-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/portal.bluetogold.com\/?p=7549","title":{"rendered":"Running Firearm Serial Number During Traffic Stop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our next question is: Can you run the serial number of a firearm that you are holding during a traffic stop?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The answer is; most likely,<\/strong> but there are some caveats I want to go over.<\/p>\n

Can you take a gun from a lawfully armed driver during a traffic stop?<\/h2>\n

First of all, we do know that if you are lawfully seizing a gun, for example, during a pat down<\/a> at a traffic stop, even if it is a lawfully concealed carry, and you want to seize that gun during the traffic stop for your safety, that certainly is going to be upheld.\u00a0 That’s pretty clear.<\/p>\n

Then when you have the firearm, normally the firearm\u2019s serial number is in plain view<\/a>; you can just look at it.\u00a0 And that’s not going to be a search under the Fourth Amendment.\u00a0 Right to be, right to see; that’s plain view.<\/p>\n

But what happens when you are running the gun, and the gun itself has nothing to do with the traffic stop?\u00a0 It\u2019s just a safety issue.\u00a0 For example, the traffic stop is for speeding, failure to maintain lane, and so forth.<\/p>\n

The next legal question that we have to address is, does the running the gun extend the traffic stop?\u00a0 Because if it does, it could be prohibited under Rodriguez.\u00a0 So let’s go through this.<\/p>\n

Does running the gun extend the traffic stop?<\/h2>\n

If you’re running the firearm, and the serial number is offered along with the suspect\u2019s or the driver’s license information, and so forth, and dispatch gives you all that at one time, that’s not usually going to be an issue because it didn’t extend the stop.\u00a0 It’s part of the other things that you did.\u00a0 It did not measurably extend the stop.\u00a0 So that’s the first issue benefit.<\/p>\n

If it does extend the stop; let’s say for example, dispatch tells you, \u201cNCIC is taking a while to get back to us on this gun,\u201d\u00a0 and everything else is completed on the traffic stop, and you are just waiting, there is an argument that that unrelated investigation is an extended stop.\u00a0 And if something is found as a result of that, it’s the fruit of the poisonous tree.<\/p>\n

So keep that in mind.\u00a0 I think courts are going to bend over backwards to give you the tools you need to find stolen firearms and so forth.\u00a0 But just keep that in the back of your mind, that at some point, it could extend the stop.<\/p>\n

Is removing the grip to find the serial number a search?<\/h2>\n

The next issue is; what if the if the serial number is hidden from plain view?\u00a0 For example, if there’s a Hogue grip and that number is underneath?\u00a0 Some Rugers have their serial number plates there, and you have to actually remove a grip or you have to remove a firearm part.\u00a0 That is not plain view.\u00a0 That is a search under the Fourth Amendment.<\/p>\n

I recommend that if you’re going to do that, and be that intrusive on the person’s firearm, have some reason to give to the court why you believed that running the firearm was reasonable.\u00a0 For example, if you believe that the person has a criminal history that would prohibit them from possessing a firearm, you’re going to check that.\u00a0 And you’re probably also going to run the gun at the same time.<\/p>\n

Also, for any kind of gang affiliation, any kind of drug evidence, you should run it.\u00a0 Under federal law, and in probably most states, you cannot possess firearms if you are a habitual user of illegal narcotics.\u00a0 So what I’m saying is, if you’re going to do that, try to have something, anything, to justify the reason for being intrusive and actually removing parts of the firearm to find a certain number. \u00a0 Because that would not be plain view.\u00a0 That would be a search and it should be justified to some degree.<\/p>\n

Will a court uphold running a gun serial number?<\/h2>\n

Now again, I do believe courts are going to bend over backwards to uphold what you’re doing out there with these firearms.\u00a0 They want the tone of the courts out there to seem to be strict\u00a0 with enforcement of firearm laws, especially in anti-gun states like New Jersey, New York and California.<\/p>\n

I can’t see a trial court at the lower level overturning what you’re doing out there with firearms. I think at the the appellate level or the Supreme Court, they would have a little bit more reflection on it constitutionally, but at the lower level I think they’re going to be very motivated to uphold what you’re doing with firearms. That’s just my opinion.<\/p>\n

But pro-gun states like Tennessee and Texas, at the lower level, they are probably going to be a little bit more picky about why you’re doing what you’re doing and they’re going to want you to have some reasons.\u00a0 I hope this helps. I don’t have a lot of cases on it so I’m giving you my opinion, but still, I think it moves the ball forward.<\/p>\n

Related from Blue to Gold<\/h2>\n