SB 131

Under current law, if a person violates the law by going armed with a concealed

and dangerous weapon, he or she is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Under this bill,

a person would be guilty of a felony if he or she violated the law by going armed with

a concealed and dangerous weapon if he or she is ineligible to possess a firearm as

indicated by a search in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

In addition, if the person has been previously convicted of a violent offence, the

person must serve at least three years of confinement in prison.

Current law prohibits certain persons from possessing a firearm including a

person who is convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or found not guilty by reason of

mental disease or defect for a crime that is a felony; a person who is subject to a

domestic abuse or child abuse injunction and, in some cases, a harassment

injunction; and a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm in connection

with a court-ordered mental health commitment. A person who violates the

prohibition against possessing a firearm is guilty of a Class G felony. Any person who

knowingly furnishes a firearm to a person who is prohibited from possessing a

firearm is also guilty of a Class G felony. This bill creates an additional prohibition

against purchasing a firearm for a person knowing that the person is prohibited from

possessing a firearm, and makes it a Class G felony as well. The bill also makes it

a Class F felony for a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm to possess

the firearm if he or she knows it was purchased for him or her.

This bill is contingent upon the enactment of another bill creating the license

to carry a concealed weapon.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,

the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a

report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to

result if the bill is enacted.