Gun Sales and Mental Health
A state-by-state listing and some of the history behind gun laws as related to mental illness.
As of May 2006, the FBI reports that a total of 29 states rely entirely on the FBI to conduct all Brady Act-related background checks. 13 states have agencies acting in a full point of contact capacity. Full POC states designate a local or state law enforcement authority to conduct the federally required background checks within state boundaries. Eight states participate as partial point of contact states. These states have agencies that conduct checks for handguns and/or handgun permits, while the FBI processes all long gun (i.e., rifles and shotguns) transactions. 23 states report at least some mental health records to the NICS, however, the confidentiality status and nature of this information is in question. Privacy laws and lack of technical ability prevent 27 states and D.C. from sharing mental health information with the NICS. Only 11 of the 28 NICS states (full and partial) provide any of this information to the FBI.
The act initially required purchasers to wait up to five days for a background check to complete before purchasing a handgun from a federal firearms licensee. The waiting period provision of the act expired in 1998 when the NICS came online.
Currently, a handgun purchaser may have to wait for up to three business days if the background check fails to immediately approve or deny his/her application to purchase a handgun. If the denial is not issued within those three days, the transfer may be completed at that time by default. This can be problematic, as some states update databases in real time, while other states can take up to a week. With this in mind, several states have increased their waiting periods to up to ten days. This act only relates to handguns, but there are states that also require background checks for the purchase of long guns as well. Additionally, the Brady Act only applies to FFLs. It does not affect private sellers. It is estimated that 40% of all firearm transactions are through private sellers.
|
Jurisdiction |
Assisted Outpatient Treatment |
State Code Sections |
Tarasoff-Like Statutes As of 2002 |
NAMI 2006 Grades |
United States |
No |
N/A |
Specific Persons** |
D |
|
Alabama |
Yes |
Ala. Code § 22-52-10.4; § 22-52-10.2 |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
D |
|
Alaska |
Yes |
Alaska Stat. ; § 47.30.755(a); §47.30.915(7);§47.30.915(10) |
Permission To Warn |
D |
|
Arizona |
Yes |
Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 36-540(A);§ 36-501(5), (6), (16), (33) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary* |
D+ |
|
Arkansas |
Yes |
Ark. Code Ann. § 20-47-207(c) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
D- |
|
California |
+ |
Calif. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5250; § 5008(h)(1); § 5346(a) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary* |
C |
|
Colorado |
Yes |
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 27-10-111(1); § 27-10-102(5) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary* |
U |
|
Connecticut |
No |
Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 17a-498(c); § 17a-495(a) |
Permission To Warn |
B |
|
Delaware |
Yes |
Del. Code Ann. tit. 16, § 5001(6); tit. 16. § 5010 |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary* |
C- |
|
D.C. |
Yes |
D.C. Code Ann.§ 21-545(b) |
Permission To Warn |
C |
|
Florida |
Yes |
Fla. Stat. Ann. § 394.467(1); § 394.4655(1) |
Permission To Warn |
C- |
|
Georgia |
Yes |
Ga. Code Ann. § 37-3-1(9.1); § 37-3-1(12.1) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
D |
|
Hawaii |
Yes |
Haw. Rev. Stat.;§ 334-60.2; § 334-121; § 334-1 |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
C |
|
Idaho |
Yes |
Idaho Code § 66-329(k); § 66-317(k), (m) ; § 66-339A |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary* |
F |
|
Illinois |
Yes |
405 Ill Comp. Stat.5/1-119 |
Permission To Warn |
F |
|
Indiana |
Yes |
Ind. Code Ann. § 12-7-2-53; § 12-7-2-96; § 12-26-7-5(a); § 12-26-14-1; § 12-26-6-8-(a); |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary |
D- |
|
Iowa |
Yes |
Iowa Code § 229.14; § 229.1(15) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
F |
|
Kansas |
Yes |
Kan. Stat. Ann. § 59-2946a(f)(1); § 59-2967(a) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
F |
|
Kentucky |
Yes |
Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 202A.026; § 202A.011(2) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary* |
F |
|
Louisiana |
Yes |
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 28:55(E)(1); § 28:2(3), (4), (10) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary* |
D- |
|
Maine |
No |
Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 34-B, § 3864(6)(A) 34B, § 3801(4) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
B- |
|
Maryland |
No |
Md. Code Ann., Health-Gen. § 10-632(e)(2) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary* |
C+ |
|
Massachusetts |
No |
Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 123, § 8(a); ch. 123, § 1 |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary |
C- |
|
Michigan |
Yes |
Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 330.1401 |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary* |
C+ |
|
Minnesota |
Yes |
Minn. Stat. Ann. § 253B.09(1); § 253B.02(13)(a), (17); § 253B.065(5)(b) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary |
C+ |
|
Mississippi |
Yes |
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-21-73(4); § 41-21-61(e) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary |
D |
|
Missouri |
Yes |
Mo. Ann. Stat. § 632.335(4); § 632.005(9), § 632.350(5) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary |
C- |
|
Montana |
Yes |
Mont. Code Ann. § 53-21-126(1); § 53-21-127(7) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary* |
F |
|
Nebraska |
Yes |
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 83-1037; § 83-1009 |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary* |
D |
|
Nevada |
No |
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 433A.310(1); § 433A.115 |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
D- |
|
New Hampshire |
Yes |
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann.§ 135-C:34; § 135-C:27 |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary |
D |
|
New Jersey |
No |
N.J. Stat. Ann.§ 30:4-27.2(m), (r),(h),(i) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary |
C |
|
New Mexico |
No |
N.M. Stat. Ann. § 43-1-11(C); § 43-1-3(M), (N) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
C- |
|
New York |
Yes |
N.Y. Mental Hyg. Law § 9.31(c); § 9.01, § 9.60(C) |
Permission To Warn |
U |
|
North Carolina |
Yes |
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 122C-268(j); §122C-3(11); § 122C-267(h); § 122C-263(d)(1); § 122C-271(a) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
D+ |
|
North Dakota |
Yes |
N.D. Cent. Code § 25-03.1-07; § 25-03.1-02(12) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
F |
|
Ohio |
Yes |
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 5122.15(C); § 5122.01(B) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary* |
B |
|
Oklahoma |
Yes |
Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 43A, § 1-103(13) a. tit. 43A, § 1-103(18) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary |
D |
|
Oregon |
Yes |
Or. Rev. Stat. § 426.005(1)(d) |
Permission To Warn |
C+ |
|
Pennsylvania |
Yes |
50 :State w:st="on">Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 7301(A).; § 7304(f) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary |
D+ |
|
Rhode Island |
Yes |
R.I. Gen. Laws § 40.1-5-8(j); § 40.1-5-2 (7)(i); § 40.1-5-2 (8) |
Permission To Warn |
C |
|
South Carolina |
Yes |
S.C. Code Ann. § 44-17-580; §44-23-10(1),(2) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary |
B- |
|
South Dakota |
Yes |
S.D. Codified Laws § 27A-1-2; § 27A-1-1 (4), (5) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
F |
|
Tennessee |
No |
Tenn. Code Ann. § 33-6-501 |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary |
C- |
|
Texas |
Yes |
Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 574.034; § 574.035 § 574.034; § 574.035 |
Permission To Warn |
C |
|
Utah |
Yes |
Utah Code Ann. § 62A-15-631 (10)62A-15-602 (12) 62A-15-602 (13) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary* |
D |
|
Vermont |
Yes |
Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 18, § 7611 tit. 18, § 7101(16) tit. 18, § 7101(17) |
Duty To Warn: Discretionary |
C- |
|
Virginia |
Yes |
Va. Code Ann. § 37.2-817; § 37.2-817 |
Only if Involuntarily Hospitalized |
D |
|
Washington |
Yes |
Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 71.05.240; § 71.05.020(19); § 71.05.020(14) ; § 71.05.020(16); § 71.05.020(32) |
Duty To Warn: Nondiscretionary* |
D |
|
West Virginia |
Yes |
W.Va. Code §27-5-4(j); 27-1-12 |
Permission To Warn |
D |
|
Wisconsin |
Yes |
Wis. Stat. Ann. § 51.20(1)(a)1; § 51.20(1)(a)2 |
Duty To Warn: Unclear |
B- |
|
Wyoming |
Yes |
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 25-10-110(j); § 25-10-101(a)(ix); § 25-10-101(a)(ii)§ 25-10-110(j)(ii) |
No Tarasoff Like Law |
D |
