GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

EXTRA SESSION 1994

S	3 

SENATE BILL 8*
Select Committee on Corrections/Punishment Committee Substitute Adopted 2/24/94
Appropriations Committee Substitute No. 2 Adopted 3/2/94

Short Title:  Amend Felony Firearms Act.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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February 9, 1994

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE POSSESSION OF FIREARMS AND WEAPONS OF MASS DEATH AND DESTRUCTION BY FELONS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 14-415.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-415.1.  Possession of firearms, etc., by felon prohibited.
(a)	Except as provided in subsections (a1) and (a2), it is unlawful for any person who has been convicted of any felony to purchase, own, possess, or have in the person's custody, care, or control any handgun or other firearm with a barrel length of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches, or any weapon of mass death and destruction as defined in G.S. 14-288.8(c).
Every person violating the provisions of this section is a Class H felon.
Nothing in this subsection would prohibit the right of any person to have possession of a firearm, other than a handgun or other firearm with a barrel length of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches or any weapon of mass death and destruction, within the person's own home or on the person's lawful place of business.
Any firearm or weapon of mass death and destruction lawfully seized for a violation of this section shall be forfeited to the State and disposed of as provided in G.S. 14-269.1.
(a1)	After a period of five years from the date of conviction, unconditional discharge from a correctional institution, or termination of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, whichever is later, a person convicted of a felony punishable as a Class A, B, C, D, E, or F felony may petition the superior court in the jurisdiction in which the person resides for a permit to purchase, own, possess, or control a firearm, other than a handgun or other firearm with a barrel length of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches or a weapon of mass death and destruction. The presiding judge may, for good cause shown, grant the petition and issue a permit.
(a2)	(Effective until January 1, 1995) In order to comply with the federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended, 18 U.S.C. § 922, a person convicted of a felony punishable as a Class G, H, I, or J felony may, after a period of one year from the date of conviction, unconditional discharge from a correctional institution, or termination of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, whichever is later, petition the superior court in the jurisdiction in which the person resides for a permit to purchase, own, possess, or control a firearm, other than a handgun or other firearm with a barrel length of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches or a weapon of mass death and destruction.  The presiding judge may, for good cause shown, grant the petition and issue a permit.
(b)	Prior convictions which cause disentitlement under this section shall include only:
(1)	Felonies; and
	(3)	Violations of criminal laws of other states or of the United States substantially similar to the crimes covered in subdivision (1) which are punishable where committed by imprisonment for a term exceeding two years.
When a person is charged under this section, records of prior convictions of any offense, whether in the courts of this State, or in the courts of any other state or of the United States, shall be admissible in evidence for the purpose of proving a violation of this section.  The term 'conviction' is defined as a final judgment in any case in which felony punishment, or imprisonment for a term exceeding two years, as the case may be, is permissible, without regard to the plea entered or to the sentence imposed.  A judgment of a conviction or a plea of guilty to such an offense certified to a superior court of this State from the custodian of records of any state or federal court under the same name as that by which the defendant is charged shall be prima facie evidence that the identity of such person is the same as the defendant so charged and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts so certified.
(c)	The indictment charging the defendant under the terms of this section shall be separate from any indictment charging him with other offenses related to or giving rise to a charge under this section.  An indictment which charges the person with violation of this section must set forth the date that the prior offense was committed, the type of offense and the penalty therefor, and the date that the defendant was convicted or plead guilty to such offense, the identity of the court in which the conviction or plea of guilty took place and the verdict and judgment rendered therein."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 14-415.1, as amended by this act, reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-415.1.  Possession of firearms, etc., by felon prohibited.
(a)	Except as provided in subsection (a1), it is unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a Class A, B, C, D, E, or F felony to purchase, own, possess, or have in the person's custody, care, or control any handgun or other firearm with a barrel length of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches, or any weapon of mass death and destruction as defined in G.S. 14-288.8(c).
Every person violating the provisions of this section is a Class H felon.
Nothing in this subsection would prohibit the right of any person to have possession of a firearm, other than a handgun or other firearm with a barrel length of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches or any weapon of mass death and destruction, within the person's own home or on the person's lawful place of business.
Any firearm or weapon of mass death and destruction lawfully seized for a violation of this section shall be forfeited to the State and disposed of as provided in G.S. 14-269.1. 
(a1)	After a period of five years from the date of conviction, unconditional discharge from a correctional institution, or termination of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence, whichever is later, a person convicted of a felony punishable as a Class A, B, C, D, E, or F felony may petition the superior court in the jurisdiction in which the person resides for a permit to purchase, own, possess, or control a firearm, other than a handgun or other firearm with a barrel length of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches or a weapon of mass death and destruction. The presiding judge may, for good cause shown, grant the petition and issue a permit.
	(b)	Prior convictions which cause disentitlement under this section shall include only:
(1)	Felonies punishable as a Class A, B, C, D, E, or F felony; and
(2)	 Repealed.
(3)	Violations of criminal laws of other states or of the United States substantially similar to the crimes covered in subdivision (1) which are punishable where committed by imprisonment for a term exceeding two years.
When a person is charged under this section, records of prior convictions of any offense, whether in the courts of this State, or in the courts of any other state or of the United States, shall be admissible in evidence for the purpose of proving a violation of this section.  The term 'conviction' is defined as a final judgment in any case in which felony punishment, or imprisonment for a term exceeding two years, as the case may be, is permissible, without regard to the plea entered or to the sentence imposed.  A judgment of a conviction or a plea of guilty to such an offense certified to a superior court of this State from the custodian of records of any state or federal court under the same name as that by which the defendant is charged shall be prima facie evidence that the identity of such person is the same as the defendant so charged and shall be prima facie evidence of the facts so certified.
(c)	The indictment charging the defendant under the terms of this section shall be separate from any indictment charging him with other offenses related to or giving rise to a charge under this section.  An indictment which charges the person with violation of this section must set forth the date that the prior offense was committed, the type of offense and the penalty therefor, and the date that the defendant was convicted or plead guilty to such offense, the identity of the court in which the conviction or plea of guilty took place and the verdict and judgment rendered therein."
Sec. 3.  Section 1245 of Chapter 539 of the 1993 Session Laws is repealed.
Sec. 4.  Section 2 of this act becomes effective January 1, 1995, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date. Section 3 of this act is effective upon ratification.  The remainder of this act becomes effective July 1, 1994, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.  Prosecutions for, or sentences based on, offenses occurring before the effective dates of this act are not abated or affected by this act and the statutes that would be applicable to those prosecutions or sentences but for those provisions of this act remain applicable to those prosecutions or sentences.