Gun Sales and Mental Health

PAMELA KULBARSH, RN
Crisis Intervention Contributor
Created: May 21, 2007

A state-by-state listing and some of the history behind gun laws as related to mental illness.

Mental health laws in the United States are all over the map, and there are certainly gaps in the system. We can expect a flurry of new legislation related to the recent Virginia Tech rampage killing by a student with a history of mental illness. In the past, similar flurries are usually related to isolated incidents of violence by mentally ill individuals using firearms. Of course the media is all over these stories, referring to them as "preventable tragedies," which inevitably leads to a public outcry. Without doubt the Virginia incident will prompt state and federal government to reassess current laws.

The purpose of this article is to provide law enforcement officers and agencies with an overview of the laws state by state. Do not rely solely on the information provided, as laws frequently change and some of the information provided is from the most recent compilations, one of which is five years old. While your duties are generally covered by your department's policies and procedures codes, know that those too are invariably out of date relative to mental health laws.

Table 1 State by State: Mental Health Firearm Laws, Access to Mental Health Database, Background Checks Performed By NICS

Jurisdiction	2005 State Laws/Federal Statute Firearm Prohibitions Related to Mental Illness Title of Law	Mental Illness Variable in Law 2005	Access To Mental Health Database 2005	NICS POC Firearm Background Checks	Report at Least Some Mental Health Info to FBI
United States	United States Federal Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922 1968 et seq.	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A
Alabama	Ala Code § 13A-11-50 (2004), Criminal Code, Chapter 11, et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Alaska	Alaska Stat § 11.61.190 (2004), et seq..; 18.65.710 et seq.	No	No	NICS	No
Arizona	Ariz Rev Stat Ann § 13.905 (2004),et seq.; 13-3101, et seq.	Yes	Yes	NICS	Yes
Arkansas	Ark Stat Ann § 5-73-103 (2003), et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	Yes
California	Cal Welf & Inst Code § 8100 (2004), et seq.	Yes	Yes	POC	Yes
Colorado	Col Rev Stat § 12-26.1-101 (2004), 18-12-101, et seq.; 24-33.5-424	No	No	POC	Yes
Connecticut	Conn Gen Stat § 29-27 (2003), et seq.; 53-20 class=GramE>,. et seq.; 53a-211,et seq.; 17a-500, et seq.	Yes	Yes	POC	No
Delaware	Del Code Ann title xi § 1441 (2004), et seq.; title xxii § 904A	Yes	Yes	NICS	No
D.C.	DC Code Ann § 22–4502 (2004), et seq.; 22-4505-4507	Yes	Yes	NICS	No
Florida	Fla Stat § 790.001 (2004), et seq; 493.6115 (2003)	Yes	No	POC	Yes
Georgia	Ga Code Ann § 16-11-123 (2004), et seq.; 16-11-174, et seq.	Yes	Yes	NICS	No
Hawaii	Haw Rev Stat § 134-1, et seq.	Yes	Yes	POC	No
Idaho	Idaho Code § 18-310 (2003); 18-3302 et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Illinois	Ill Rev Stat 430:65 (2004), et seq.; 720:5/24-1, et seq; 725:5/112A-14	Yes	Yes	POC	No
Indiana	Ind Code Ann § 35-47-1-5 (2004) et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Iowa	Iowa Code § 702.7 (2003), et seq.; 724.1, et seq.	Yes	No	Partial	Yes
Kansas	Kansas Stat Ann § 21:4201 (2003), et seq.; 75-7b17 et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	Yes
Kentucky	Ky Rev Stat Ann § 237.110 (2004), et seq.; 527.040, et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	Yes
Louisiana	La Rev Stat Ann §14:95 (2004), et seq.; § 40:1379.1, et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Maine	Me Rev Stat Ann, title 15 § 393 (2003), et seq.; 17A.1052 et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Maryland	Md Pub Safety Code 40:1379.1, et seq.	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes
Massachusetts	Mass Gen L ch 140 § 129B (2004), et seq.; 269-10	Yes	Partial+	NICS	No
Michigan	Mich Comp Laws Ann § 28.422 (2004) et seq.; 750.222, et seq.	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes
Minnesota	Minn Stat § 609.66 (2003), et seq.; 609.165, et seq.; 624.71 et seq.	Yes	Yes	NICS	No
Mississippi	Miss Code Ann § 45- 9-101 (2004), 97-37- 1, et seq.	Yes	Yes	NICS	No
Missouri	Mo Rev Stat § 471.090 (2004)	Yes	No	NICS	Yes
Montana	Mont Code Ann § 45-8-321 (2004)	Yes	No	NICS	No
Nebraska	Neb Rev Stat § 28-1201 (1991), et seq.; 69-2401, et seq.	No	Yes	Partial	No
Nevada	Nev Rev Stat § 202.253 (2004); et seq.; 202.360 et seq.	Yes	No	POC	No
New Hampshire	N H Rev Stat Ann § 159:1 (2004), et seq.	No	No	Partial	Yes
New Jersey	NJ Rev Stat § 2C:39- 1 (2004), et seq.; 2C:58–1, et seq.	Yes	Yes	POC	No
New Mexico	NM Stat Ann § 30-7- 2 (2004), et seq.	No	No	NICS	No
New York	NY Law Crim Proc § 265.00 (2004), et seq.; 400.00, et seq.	Yes	Yes	NICS	Yes
North Carolina	NC Gen Stat § 14- 269.7 (2004), et seq.; 14-402 et seq.	Yes	No	Partial	Yes
North Dakota	ND Cent Code § 62.1-01-01 (2004), et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Ohio	Ohio Rev Code Ann§ 2923.11 (2004), et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	Yes
Oklahoma	Okla Stat title 21 § 1271.1 (2004), et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Oregon	Or Rev Stat § 166.170 (2004), et seq.	Yes	Yes	POC	No
Pennsylvania	18 Pa Cons Stat § 6101 (2004), et seq.	Yes	Yes	POC	No
Rhode Island	RI Gen Laws § 11-47-2 (2004), et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
South Carolina	SC Codified Laws § 16-23-10 (2004), et seq.; 23-31-110, et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	Yes
South Dakota	SD Codified Laws § 16-23-19 (2004.), et seq; 23-31-110., et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Tennessee	Tenn Penal Code Ann § 39-17-1301 (2004), et seq.	No	No	POC	Yes
Texas	Tex Penal Code Ann § 46.01 (2004) et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Utah	Utah Code Ann § 53-5-704 (2004), et seq.; 76-10-501 (2004), et seq.	Yes	Yes	POC	Yes
Vermont	Vt Stat Ann § 13-4004, (2004) et seq.	No	No	NICS	No
Virginia	VA Code Ann §18.2-279 (2004), et seq.; 76-10-501, et seq.	Yes	Yes	POC	Yes
Washington	Wash Rev Code Ann § 9.41.010 (2004), et seq.	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes
West Virginia	W Va Code § 61-7-2 (2004), et seq.	Yes	No	NICS	No
Wisconsin	Wis Stat § 175.30 (2003), et seq; 941.20, et seq.	Yes	Yes	Partial	No
Wyoming	Wyo Stat § 6-8-101 (2004), et seq.	Y	No	NICS	Yes

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