HF 1873

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public safety; prohibiting the possession 
  1.3             of firearms by persons who have been admitted or held 
  1.4             for emergency care due to imminent risk of suicide or 
  1.5             attempted suicide; authorizing peace officers to take 
  1.6             temporary custody of any firearms owned by the person; 
  1.7             permitting such persons to possess firearms after they 
  1.8             have recovered from this disability; amending 
  1.9             Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 253B.05, by adding a 
  1.10            subdivision; and 624.713, subdivision 1. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 253B.05, is 
  1.13  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 2c.  [FIREARMS.] A peace officer who transports a 
  1.15  person to a treatment facility under subdivision 1 or 2 may take 
  1.16  temporary custody of any firearm owned by the person if: 
  1.17     (1) the peace officer has reason to believe the person has 
  1.18  caused or is in imminent danger of causing injury to self due to 
  1.19  suicidal ideations; and 
  1.20     (2) the person has been admitted for emergency care and 
  1.21  treatment by the head of the treatment facility. 
  1.22  The law enforcement agency employing the peace officer shall 
  1.23  retain custody of the firearm until it receives a medical 
  1.24  certificate or other satisfactory proof under section 624.713, 
  1.25  subdivision 1, clause (c), stating that the person is no longer 
  1.26  suffering from the disability. 
  1.27     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 624.713, 
  1.28  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.1      Subdivision 1.  [INELIGIBLE PERSONS.] The following persons 
  2.2   shall not be entitled to possess a pistol or semiautomatic 
  2.3   military-style assault weapon or, except for clause (a), any 
  2.4   other firearm: 
  2.5      (a) a person under the age of 18 years except that a person 
  2.6   under 18 may carry or possess a pistol or semiautomatic 
  2.7   military-style assault weapon (i) in the actual presence or 
  2.8   under the direct supervision of the person's parent or guardian, 
  2.9   (ii) for the purpose of military drill under the auspices of a 
  2.10  legally recognized military organization and under competent 
  2.11  supervision, (iii) for the purpose of instruction, competition, 
  2.12  or target practice on a firing range approved by the chief of 
  2.13  police or county sheriff in whose jurisdiction the range is 
  2.14  located and under direct supervision; or (iv) if the person has 
  2.15  successfully completed a course designed to teach marksmanship 
  2.16  and safety with a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault 
  2.17  weapon and approved by the commissioner of natural resources; 
  2.18     (b) except as otherwise provided in clause (i), a person 
  2.19  who has been convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent or 
  2.20  convicted as an extended jurisdiction juvenile for committing, 
  2.21  in this state or elsewhere, a crime of violence unless ten years 
  2.22  have elapsed since the person has been restored to civil rights 
  2.23  or the sentence or disposition has expired, whichever occurs 
  2.24  first, and during that time the person has not been convicted of 
  2.25  or adjudicated for any other crime of violence.  For purposes of 
  2.26  this section, crime of violence includes crimes in other states 
  2.27  or jurisdictions which would have been crimes of violence as 
  2.28  herein defined if they had been committed in this state; 
  2.29     (c) a person: 
  2.30     (i) who is or has ever been confined in a treatment 
  2.31  facility in Minnesota or elsewhere as a "mentally ill," 
  2.32  "mentally retarded," or "mentally ill and dangerous to the 
  2.33  public" person, as defined in section 253B.02, to a treatment 
  2.34  facility,; or 
  2.35     (ii) who is or has ever been admitted to or held for 
  2.36  emergency care or treatment in a treatment facility under 
  3.1   section 253B.05 because the person was believed to be in 
  3.2   imminent danger of causing injury to self due to suicidal 
  3.3   ideations; or 
  3.4      (iii) who has ever been found incompetent to stand trial or 
  3.5   not guilty by reason of mental illness,; 
  3.6   unless the person possesses a certificate of a medical doctor or 
  3.7   psychiatrist licensed in Minnesota, or other satisfactory proof 
  3.8   that the person is no longer suffering from this disability; 
  3.9      (d) a person who has been convicted in Minnesota or 
  3.10  elsewhere of a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor violation of 
  3.11  chapter 152, or a person who is or has ever been hospitalized or 
  3.12  committed for treatment for the habitual use of a controlled 
  3.13  substance or marijuana, as defined in sections 152.01 and 
  3.14  152.02, unless the person possesses a certificate of a medical 
  3.15  doctor or psychiatrist licensed in Minnesota, or other 
  3.16  satisfactory proof, that the person has not abused a controlled 
  3.17  substance or marijuana during the previous two years; 
  3.18     (e) a person who has been confined or committed to a 
  3.19  treatment facility in Minnesota or elsewhere as "chemically 
  3.20  dependent" as defined in section 253B.02, unless the person has 
  3.21  completed treatment.  Property rights may not be abated but 
  3.22  access may be restricted by the courts; 
  3.23     (f) a peace officer who is informally admitted to a 
  3.24  treatment facility pursuant to section 253B.04 for chemical 
  3.25  dependency, unless the officer possesses a certificate from the 
  3.26  head of the treatment facility discharging or provisionally 
  3.27  discharging the officer from the treatment facility.  Property 
  3.28  rights may not be abated but access may be restricted by the 
  3.29  courts; 
  3.30     (g) a person, including a person under the jurisdiction of 
  3.31  the juvenile court, who has been charged with committing a crime 
  3.32  of violence and has been placed in a pretrial diversion program 
  3.33  by the court before disposition, until the person has completed 
  3.34  the diversion program and the charge of committing the crime of 
  3.35  violence has been dismissed; 
  3.36     (h) except as otherwise provided in clause (i), a person 
  4.1   who has been convicted in another state of committing an offense 
  4.2   similar to the offense described in section 609.224, subdivision 
  4.3   3, against a family or household member or section 609.2242, 
  4.4   subdivision 3, unless three years have elapsed since the date of 
  4.5   conviction and, during that time, the person has not been 
  4.6   convicted of any other violation of section 609.224, subdivision 
  4.7   3, or 609.2242, subdivision 3, or a similar law of another 
  4.8   state; 
  4.9      (i) a person who has been convicted in this state or 
  4.10  elsewhere of assaulting a family or household member and who was 
  4.11  found by the court to have used a firearm in any way during 
  4.12  commission of the assault is prohibited from possessing any type 
  4.13  of firearm for the period determined by the sentencing court; or 
  4.14     (j) a person who: 
  4.15     (1) has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable 
  4.16  by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; 
  4.17     (2) is a fugitive from justice as a result of having fled 
  4.18  from any state to avoid prosecution for a crime or to avoid 
  4.19  giving testimony in any criminal proceeding; 
  4.20     (3) is an unlawful user of any controlled substance as 
  4.21  defined in chapter 152; 
  4.22     (4) has been judicially committed to a treatment facility 
  4.23  in Minnesota or elsewhere as a "mentally ill," "mentally 
  4.24  retarded," or "mentally ill and dangerous to the public" person 
  4.25  as defined in section 253B.02; 
  4.26     (5) is an alien who is illegally or unlawfully in the 
  4.27  United States; 
  4.28     (6) has been discharged from the armed forces of the United 
  4.29  States under dishonorable conditions; or 
  4.30     (7) has renounced the person's citizenship having been a 
  4.31  citizen of the United States. 
  4.32     A person who issues a certificate pursuant to this 
  4.33  subdivision in good faith is not liable for damages resulting or 
  4.34  arising from the actions or misconduct with a firearm committed 
  4.35  by the individual who is the subject of the certificate. 
  4.36     The prohibition in this subdivision relating to the 
  5.1   possession of firearms other than pistols and semiautomatic 
  5.2   military-style assault weapons does not apply retroactively to 
  5.3   persons who are prohibited from possessing a pistol or 
  5.4   semiautomatic military-style assault weapon under this 
  5.5   subdivision before August 1, 1994.