AB 559

Under current law, a person is prohibited from possessing a firearm and must

surrender any firearm he or she currently possesses if he or she is subject to a

domestic abuse injunction, a child abuse injunction, or, if the court determines that

he or she may use a firearm to harm another or endanger public safety, a harassment

injunction (injunction). A person who is subject to an injunction may surrender his

or her firearm to a sheriff or to a third party approved by the court and is guilty of

a Class G felony if convicted of possessing a firearm while subject to the injunction.

This bill creates a procedure for notifying a person of the prohibition against

possessing a firearm and of the requirement to surrender any firearm when the

person is served with a petition for an injunction hearing.

The bill also creates a procedure for surrendering firearms if the court grants

an injunction. If the person who is subject to the injunction (respondent) is present

at the injunction hearing, he or she may provide the court with a completed firearm

possession form, which is a form that requests information such as the quantity and

the make and model of any firearms he or she owns or possesses or has owned or

possessed in the previous six months. If the respondent is not present at the

injunctive hearing, the court must provide the petitioner with the opportunity to

state if the respondent possesses a firearm and, if so, the quantity and make and

model of any firearm. If the court is not satisfied that the respondent does not possess

a firearm, a firearm surrender hearing must take place within one week of the

injunction hearing. If, subject to certain conditions, the respondent surrenders all

firearms to the sheriff or to a third party within 48 hours, the court must dismiss the

firearm surrender hearing unless the court has a reason related to the surrender of

firearms not to dismiss the hearing.

If the court does not dismiss the hearing, a respondent must attend a firearm

surrender hearing if the respondent did not appear at the injunction hearing and the

court is not satisfied that the respondent does not possess a firearm or the respondent

wants to surrender a firearm to a third party that did not appear at the injunction

hearing. If a respondent is required to attend the hearing but does not, the court

must issue an arrest warrant for the respondent.

At a firearm surrender hearing, if the respondent wants to surrender a firearm

to a third party who attends the firearm surrender hearing, the court shall, subject

to certain conditions, permit the surrender. If the third party is not at the firearm

surrender hearing or the conditions are not met, or the respondent does not want to

surrender a firearm to a third party, the court must order the respondent to

surrender his or her firearm to the sheriff within 48 hours of the order. If the

respondent fails to comply with the order, the court must issue an arrest warrant for

the respondent.