Re: The federal ban on gun possession by people who have been committed to mental institutions

[Dave Hardy]

-----Original Message-----  From: "Volokh, Eugene" Sent: May 7, 2010 4:30 PM To: "'firearmsregprof@lists.ucla.edu'" Subject: The federal ban on gun possession by people who have been committed to mental institutions 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4) bars gun possession by, among others, anyone “who [has] been committed to a mental institution” – apparently at any time in the past.  Is there any procedure through which people who have been (properly) committed to a mental institution may have that somehow set aside or vacated for 922(g)(4) purposes, on the grounds that enough time has elapsed, and that there is no reason to question their mental health now?  Thanks,   Eugene __________________________________ The details don't come to mind, but there was an amendment passed a year or so ago, in which the antigun side got more mental health records added into the background check, and the progun side got  provisions for removing the bar based on a commitment. As I recall they took the form of having States add the procedure, with Feds doing it only for VA commitments.  Until then, on a mental commitment a person was hosed. A criminal conviction could be dealt with by getting civil rights restored, but there was no such provision for commitment. There had been since '68 a procedure for "relief from disability" (dis-abilty to own a gun) that could be issued by ATF, but for 10+ years there was a rider on their budget forbidding them to use appropriated monies to grant these.

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