GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

S	1 

SENATE BILL 868

Short Title:  Domestic Violence/No Firearm.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Winner, Odom, Gulley, and Martin of Guilford.

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Referred to:  Judiciary I/Constitution

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April 26, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW BY REQUIRING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDERS TO BE ACCESSIBLE BY COMPUTER, TO ALLOW ORDER TO PROHIBIT POSSESSION AND ALLOW SEIZURE OF FIREARMS, AND TO ESTABLISH THE PENALTY FOR PURCHASE OR POSSESSION OF FIREARMS BY PERSONS SUBJECT TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 50B-3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 50B-3.  Relief.
(a)	The court, including magistrates as authorized under G.S. 50B-2(c1), may grant any protective order or approve any consent agreement to bring about a cessation of acts of domestic violence.  The orders or agreements may:
(1)	Direct a party to refrain from such acts;
(2)	Grant to a spouse possession of the residence or household of the parties and exclude the other spouse from the residence or household;
(3)	Require a party to provide a spouse and his or her children suitable alternate housing;
(4)	Award temporary custody of minor children and establish temporary visitation rights;
(5)	Order the eviction of a party from the residence or household and assistance to the victim in returning to it;
(6)	Order either party to make payments for the support of a minor child as required by law;
(7)	Order either party to make payments for the support of a spouse as required by law;
(8)	Provide for possession of personal property of the parties;
(9)	Order a party to refrain from harassing or interfering with the other; 
(10)	Award costs and attorney's fees to either party;
(11)	Order a party to surrender all firearms possessed by the party for a time period fixed in the order but not exceeding 90 days from the date the order is issued unless the court subsequently extends the time period for good cause shown;
(12)	Order a party to not purchase or possess a firearm for a time period fixed in the order but not exceeding 90 days from the date the order is issued unless the court subsequently extends the time period for good cause shown; and
(13)	Order a party to attend and complete an abuser treatment program if the program is available within a reasonable distance of the abuser's residence and is approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(b)	Protective orders entered or consent orders approved pursuant to this Chapter shall be for a fixed period of time.
(c)	A copy of any order entered and filed under this Article shall be issued to each party. In addition, a copy of the order shall be issued to and retained by the police department of the city of the victim's residence. If the victim does not reside in a city or resides in a city with no police department, copies shall be issued to and retained by the sheriff, and the county police department, if any, of the county in which the victim resides.
(d)	If an order issued pursuant to this section requires surrender of firearms, then, upon a finding of probable cause that:
(1)	The party subject to the order has failed or refuses to surrender the firearms in the party's possession, and
(2)	Search and seizure of the firearms will further the purposes of the domestic violence protective order,
the court may issue a search warrant for the premises where the firearms may be found, authorizing officers to enter the premises and to seize and impound the firearms.  Search warrants issued pursuant to this subsection shall meet the requirements of Article 11 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes.
(e)	If a domestic violence order issued pursuant to this section contains a provision ordering a party to surrender all firearms possessed by the party, the party shall surrender the firearms to the sheriff or other person specified in the order, and the sheriff or person specified in the order shall impound the firearms for the time period stated in the domestic violence order.  The person who impounded the firearms shall return the firearms to the lawful owner, upon the owner's request, on or after the expiration of the time period stated in the domestic violence order pursuant to which the firearms were impounded.  In order to regain possession of firearms impounded pursuant to this section, the person requesting return of the firearms must provide proof of lawful ownership of the firearms.  If lawful ownership of the firearms impounded pursuant to this section has not been established or if lawful claim to the firearms has not been made after 60 days from the expiration of the time period for which an order requiring surrender of the firearms is effective, then the firearms impounded shall be disposed of in the same manner as weapons seized pursuant to G.S. 15-11.1.
(f)	The Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide for immediate entry of domestic violence orders in its computerized records and shall provide for access to the records by magistrates and law enforcement personnel on a 24-hour-a-day basis. The records shall indicate whether an order requires surrender of firearms, or prohibits possession or purchase of firearms, or both, and shall include all modifications to the order."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 15A-242 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A-242.  Items subject to seizure under a search warrant.
An item is subject to seizure pursuant to a search warrant if there is probable cause to believe that it:
(1)	Is stolen or embezzled; or
(2)	Is contraband or otherwise unlawfully possessed; or
(3)	Has been used or is possessed for the purpose of being used to commit or conceal the commission of a crime; or
(4)	Constitutes evidence of an offense or the identity of a person participating in an offense; or
(5)	Is possessed by a person subject to a domestic violence protection order in force and effect and issued pursuant to Chapter 50B of the General Statutes that specifically orders the person to surrender or not to purchase or possess the item."
Sec. 3.  Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new section to read:
"§ 14-269.8.  Prohibition against purchase and possession of firearms by person subject to domestic violence order.
(a)	It is unlawful for any person to purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, or carry, whether openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol, or other firearm while there remains in force and effect a domestic violence order issued pursuant to Chapter 50B of the General Statutes that specifically prohibits the purchase or possession of firearms.
(b)	It is unlawful for any person to sell or give any gun, rifle, pistol, or other firearm to another person, who is subject to a currently enforceable domestic violence order issued pursuant to Chapter 50B of the General Statutes that specifically prohibits the purchase or possession of a firearm, when the seller or giver knows or reasonably should know that the person is subject to the Chapter 50B order.
(c)	A person violating this section shall be guilty of a Class H felony."
Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective December 1, 1995, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.