From "State of Maine Report of the Attorney General for the
calendar years 1951-1954," page 264.


January 27, 1954

To: Elmer H. Ingraham, Chief Warden, Inland Fisheries and Game 
Re: Confiscated Rifle


     We have your memo in which you state that on October 27, 1953,
one of your wardens seized . . . a semi-automatic rifle having a
magazine capacity of 15 cartridges and that the rifle was libeled
and declared confiscate.  You ask if, under the provisions of
Section 71 of Chapter 33, R. S., as amended, that rifle should have
been libeled or should only firearms equipped with silencers be
libeled.

     It is the opinion of this office that only rifles, pistols or
other firearms fitted with silencers or any device for deadening
the sound of explosion should be libeled.  It will be added that
the first paragraph of Section 71 was enacted in 1943 and this was
the only paragraph of that Act.  It reads in part as follows:

          "No person shall sell, offer for sale, use or have in his
     possession any gun, pistol, or other firearms, fitted or
     contrived with any device for deadening the sound of
     explosion.  Whoever violates any provision of this section
     shall forfeit such firearm or firearms and the device or
     silencer, and shall further be subject to the penalties of
     section 119. . ."

     It seems clear from a reading of the above quoted provision of
law that such firearm and the device or silencer shall be forfeit.

     This section of law was further amended in 1945 to include the
paragraph relating to auto-loading firearms and automatic firearms. 
With respect to such amendments, it can be seen that the possession
of such rifle is not clearly prohibited, but the prohibition runs
to the effect that no person shall use for hunting or have in his
possession at any time in the fields and forests or on the waters
of the State such firearms, unless it shall have had its magazine
permanently altered so as to contain not more than 5 cartridges.

     For these reasons we believe it was the intent of the
legislature not to cause to be libeled any firearms except those
which have silencers or similar devices.

James G. Frost
Deputy Attorney General