RALEIGH, N.C. — A state senator has submitted a bill that would make it easier for someone who has recovered from a mental illness to carry a firearm.
Senate Bill 288, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, would also more narrowly restrict the types of mental incompetency findings that must be reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check system. If the law is passed, it would become effective Oct. 1.
The bill would allow individuals to petition for removal from mental incompetency/disability listings attached to the national criminal background check.
The individual would have to file a petition with a District Court judge that would be sent to the individual’s treatment facility and the county district attorney. The individual would have to prove “by a preponderance of the evidence” that they “will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety.
Read more: Winston-Salem Journal
