H2592 — An Act authorizing the voluntary disavowal of eligibility to purchase a firearm

Summary

An Act authorizing the voluntary disavowal of eligibility to purchase a firearm

Bill Text

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This bill establishes a voluntary disavowal list for individuals acknowledging their ineligibility to purchase firearms due to psychiatric disabilities and outlines regulations regarding its use and maintenance.

• Section 167A of chapter 6

  (j) The commissioner, in consultation with the executive office of public safety, the attorney general and the colonel of the state police, shall establish a list of persons who disavow eligibility to purchase a firearm, rifle, shotgun or machine gun, hereinafter referred to as a firearm. A person may request such person’s name to be placed on the list of disavowal of eligibility by filing a form with the commissioner acknowledging the person has a psychiatric disability and is a danger to themselves and by agreeing that the person shall not purchase a firearm. The department shall develop a standard form, accessible on the department’s webpage, providing for a voluntary disavowal of eligibility to purchase a firearm. The department may revoke, limit, condition, suspend or fine any licensee, as provided for in section 122 of chapter 140, eligibility to sell, rent or lease firearms, if the licensee sells a firearm to any person on such list or provides unauthorized access to any name on such list. The list shall be shared with a licensee by the department. The department shall distribute the form to acute-care hospitals and satellite emergency facilities as defined in section 244 of chapter 111. The department shall adopt regulations for the maintenance and distribution of the list of persons who disavow eligibility. The list shall not be a public record and shall not be open to public inspection.

  This establishes a new legal framework for individuals with psychiatric disabilities to voluntarily disavow their firearm purchasing eligibility.

• Chapter 111

  Section 244. A person voluntarily presenting in an acute-care hospital or a satellite emergency facility who is reasonably believed by the treating clinician to be suffering from a diagnosis of depression, using standardized definition of such diagnosis as set forth in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as published by the American Psychiatric Association, shall be presented with the form provided for in section 167A of chapter 6.

  This mandates that individuals diagnosed with depression at specific health facilities are to be presented with the disavowal eligibility form.

• subsection (b) of section 36C of Chapter 123

  In addition to the relief provided for in this subsection, the court may grant relief, upon petition, that the person’s name be removed from the list of persons who disavow eligibility to purchase a firearm provided in section 167A of chapter 6.

  This allows individuals to petition the court for their removal from the disavowal list.

• subsection (d) of section 131 of chapter 140

  or

  This modifies the existing language to clarify the conditions under which certain firearm eligibility determinations are made.

• subsection (d) of section 131 of chapter 140

  . → ;or

  This updates the punctuation to include an additional clause in the series of eligibility determinations.

• subsection (d) of section 131 of chapter 140

  (y) a person who has voluntarily disavowed eligibility to purchase a firearm as listed on the list kept by the department of criminal justice information service pursuant to section 167A of chapter 6.

  This explicitly includes individuals who have disavowed eligibility on the list of ineligible persons for firearm purchases.

• Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any suicide hotline maintained or operated by any entity funded in whole or part by the commonwealth shall refer callers to the form provided for in section 1 of this act.

  This requires suicide hotlines to provide information regarding the disavowal form to callers.

Sponsors

• Marjorie C. Decker · Primary

Subjects