46.4202 Prohibited weapons.

(a) A person commits a crime if he knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs or sells:

(1) an explosive weapon;

(2) a machine gun;

(3) a gas gun;

(4) a short barreled rifle or shotgun;

(5) a firearm silencer;

(6) a switchblade knife;

(7) knuckles;

(8) any other arms, as defined in section 46.4220, for which a valid license from the Commissioner of Public Safety has not been obtained.

(b) A person does not commit a crime under this section if his conduct:

(1) was incident to the performance of official duty by the armed forces, a governmental law enforcement agency, or a penal institution;

(2) was incident to engaging in a lawful commercial or business transaction with an organization listed in paragraph (b) (1); or

(3) was incident to using an explosive weapon in a manner reasonably related to a lawful industrial or commercial enterprise;

(4) was incident to displaying the weapon in a public museum or exhibition: or

(5) was incident to dealing with the weapon solely as a curio, ornament, or keepsake, or to using it in a manner reasonably related to a lawful dramatic performance; but if the weapon is a type described in paragraph (a) (1), (3), (4) or (5), it must be in a nonfunctioning condition that it cannot readily be made operable. No machine gun may be possessed, manufactured, transported, repaired, or sold as a curio, ornament, or keepsake even if it is inoperable and cannot readily be made operable.

(c) The defendant has the burden of injecting the issue of an exemption under subsection (b).

(d) A crime under paragraph (a) (1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) is a class C felony; a crime under paragraph (a) (6), (7) or (8) is a class A misdemeanor