Gun restriction bill stalls
From a story in Sunday's paper:
A measure aimed at preventing shootings like the one that claimed more than 30 lives at Virginia Tech in 2007 has sat in a legislative committee but will move forward before the end of the year, its sponsor said.“If your mental condition has deteriorated to the point where you have to be ordered into treatment, society has a right to protect itself,” said Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and majority leader in the Senate.
The bill, which is backed by Attorney General Roy Cooper, has cleared a Judiciary Committee but has sat in Senate Appropriations since June 12.
Rand said that senators have been distracted trying to compile the state’s $21.3 billion budget but that he would work to get it passed before the General Assembly adjourns, likely later this month.
Under the bill, if a court orders someone into mental treatment, that person will be entered into a nationwide database used for criminal records checks. That person would be unable to buy a gun legally in North Carolina.
Click here for the whole story.
The bill, (S2081) is opposed by Grass Roots North Carolina, a gun owner's rights group. My suspicion is you will almost certainly see it move out of the Senate in the next week, but I don't have a good read on what its prospects may be in the House.
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