GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

S	1 

SENATE BILL 865

Short Title:  Comply With Brady Bill.	(Public)

─────────────────────────────────────── 
Sponsors: Senators Cochrane and Carpenter.

─────────────────────────────────────── 
Referred to:  Judiciary I/Constitution

─────────────────────────────────────── 

April 26, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE STATE LAWS REGARDING THE PURCHASE OF A HANDGUN TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE "BRADY HANDGUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT".
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 14-403 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-403. Permit issued by sheriff; form of permit; expiration of permit.
The sheriffs of any and all counties of this State shall issue to any person, firm, or corporation in any county a license or permit to purchase or receive any weapon mentioned in this Article from any person, firm, or corporation offering to sell or dispose of the weapon.  The license or permit shall expire five years from the date of issuance.  The license or permit shall be in the following form:
North Carolina,
.............. County.
I, .........., Sheriff of said County, do hereby certify that I have conducted a criminal background check of the applicant,  ...... whose place of residence is ..........in ..........(or)	in....Township, ......... County, North Carolina, and have received no information to indicate that it would be a violation of State or federal law for the applicant to purchase, transfer, receive, or possess a handgun.  The applicant has further satisfied me as to his, her (or) their good moral character.  Therefore, a license or permit is issued to..........to purchase one pistol from any person, firm or corporation authorized to dispose of the same.
This license or permit expires five years from its date of issuance.
This ......day of ......., 19 .....
                                	.........................
                                             Sheriff."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 14-404 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-404. Issuance or refusal of permit; appeal from refusal; grounds for refusal; sheriff's fee.
(a)	Upon application, the sheriff shall issue the license or permit to a resident of that county unless the purpose of the permit is for collecting, in which case a sheriff can issue a permit to a nonresident when the sheriff has done all of the following:
(1)	Verified by a criminal history background investigation that it is not a violation of State or federal law for the applicant to purchase, transfer, receive, or possess a handgun.
(2)	Fully satisfied himself or herself by affidavits, oral evidence, or otherwise, as to the good moral character of the applicant.
(3)	Fully satisfied himself or herself that the applicant  desires the possession of the weapon mentioned for (i) the protection of the home, business, person, family or property, (ii) target shooting, (iii) collecting, or (iv) hunting.
(c)	If the sheriff is not fully satisfied, the sheriff may, for good cause shown, decline to issue the license or permit and shall provide to the applicant within seven days of the refusal a written statement of the reason(s) for the refusal. An appeal from the refusal shall lie by way of petition to the chief judge of the district court for the district in which the application was filed. The determination by the court, on appeal, shall be upon the facts, the law, and the reasonableness of the sheriff's refusal, and shall be final.
(d)	A permit may not be issued to the following persons:
(1)	One who is under an indictment or information for or has been convicted in any state, or in any court of the United States, of a felony (other than an offense pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, or restraints of trade), except that if a person has been convicted and later pardoned or is not prohibited from purchasing a firearm under the Felony Firearms Act (Article 54A of this Chapter), the person may obtain a permit;
(2)	One who is a fugitive from justice.
(3)	One who is an unlawful user of or addicted to marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug (as defined in 21 U.S.C. section 802).
(4)	One who has been adjudicated incompetent on the ground of mental illness or has been committed to any mental institution.
(e)	Nothing in this Article shall apply to officers authorized by law to carry firearms if the officers identify themselves to the vendor or donor as being officers authorized by law to carry firearms and state that the purpose for the purchase of the firearms is directly related to the law officers' official duties.
(f)	The sheriff shall charge for the sheriff's services upon issuing the license or permit a fee of five dollars ($5.00).
(g)	Each applicant for a license or permit shall be informed by the sheriff within 30 days of the date of the application whether the license or permit will be granted or denied and, if granted, the license or permit shall be immediately issued to the applicant."
Sec. 3.  Article 53 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is repealed.
Sec. 4.  This act is effective upon ratification and applies to permits or licenses applied for on or after that date.