Judges whimsy to deny constitutional rights

Major Variola (ret) mv at cdc.gov
Thu Jan 10 12:34:33 PST 2002


[Ed: since most Americans believe in random things (deities,
reincarnation, virgin births,
angels, heaven, devils, etc.) the "pretty bizarre claims" used to deny a
citizen his rights is pretty
capricious.  CP relevence: JB, CJ, etc; freedom of speech, belief; govt
permission to exercise
rights]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,42697,00.html
Concealed-Weapon Law Stirs Debate in Alaska

                                    ANCHORAGE, Alaska   Judge
                                    Natalie Finn took away Timothy
                                    Wagner's gun permit after he claimed

                                    someone had implanted a computer
chip
                                    in his head and injected him with
deadly
                                    chemicals.

                 A state appeals court, though, ruled that Finn erred,
saying Alaska's
                 concealed-carry law does not allow general concerns
about mental
                 illness to play a role in deciding whether someone
should have a gun.

                 Gun control advocates say the episode illustrates a
dangerous
                 accommodation to the gun lobby by Alaska's Legislature.
Gun
                 owners, however, argue that Alaska's law safeguards
their Second
                 Amendment rights and that the public is adequately
protected.

                 The Department of Public Safety has issued more than
18,000 such
                 permits since 1995, when Alaskans were allowed to carry
concealed
                 handguns under restrictions that include an age limit
and a gun-safety
                 course.

                 In 1998, the law was amended so that applicants did not
have to
                 prove they actually needed to carry a concealed weapon.
Also,
                 whether someone was mentally ill or had been treated
for mental
                 illness in the preceding five years was taken off the
list of questions
                 applicants were asked  a change cited by the appeals
court last
                 year in Wagner's case.

                 The Alaska law requires applicants to disclose only
whether they have
                 ever been committed to a mental hospital or found
mentally
                 incompetent by a court. "Yes" answers are grounds for
denying a
                 permit.

                 "We wanted to remove the potential for arbitrary and
capricious
                 decision making on the part of the issuing agency,"
said Brian Judy,
                 Alaska liaison for the National Rifle Association.

                 But Nancy Hwa, spokeswoman for the Brady Campaign to
Prevent
                 Gun Violence, complained: "They are taking away the
discretion of
                 local law enforcement to make these decisions in the
best interest of
                 public safety."

                 Other gun-friendly states, including Texas, Montana and
North
                 Carolina, have much stricter standards when it comes to
mental
                 instability and concealed-carry permits, said Luis
Tolley, the Brady
                 Campaign's state legislative director.

                 In Montana, the law says a sheriff can deny a permit if
there is
                 reasonable cause to believe "the applicant is mentally
ill, mentally
                 defective or mentally disabled."

                 North Carolina applicants with a "physical or mental
infirmity that
                 prevent the safe handling of a handgun" can be denied a
permit.

                 Even Texas has a long, broad list under mental health,
Tolley said.
                 The restrictions include anyone that has been diagnosed
with "a
                 psychiatric disorder or condition" that is likely to
cause impairment in
                 judgment, mood, perception or intellectual ability.

                 "Alaska seems more likely than many states to allow
mentally ill
                 people to carry guns in public," Tolley said. "By
establishing such a
                 narrow definition, that is allowing an awful lot of
people who are
                 mentally ill to carry guns in public."

                 Wagner's case began in 1998, when he entered the Alaska
Mining
                 and Diving store in Anchorage, dripping wet, and told a
clerk he was
                 trying to soak away chemicals in his body before they
killed him. He
                 also said a computer chip had been implanted in his
head. Another
                 employee overheard the conversation and called police.

                 A background check revealed he had a permit to carry a
concealed
                 gun. When an officer asked Wagner if he had a gun with
him, Wagner
                 pointed to a briefcase next to him. In it was a loaded
.357 and several
                 bags of bullets.

                 Alaska law requires permit holders who come in contact
with police
                 to tell officers immediately if they are carrying a
concealed gun.
                 Wagner was convicted of failing to do so.

                 Finn sentenced Wagner to three years' probation and
ordered him not
                 to possess guns during that period. She also ordered
him to forfeit his
                 concealed-gun permit until his mental illness was
"either cured or
                 improved."

                 The Department of Public Safety later revoked Wagner's
permit
                 based on Finn's decision.

                 Efforts to reach Wagner were unsuccessful. He has no
telephone
                 listing in Anchorage. He told the court he was an
"inventor" and
                 designed guns and ammunition. The public defender's
office said it
                 had not recently heard from him.

                 Wagner had no prior convictions, according to court
documents.
                 After his arrest, police took him to a state mental
hospital. Wagner
                 testified that he was released after being interviewed.

                 The amended law was enacted over the veto of Gov. Tony
Knowles,
                 who warned at the time that the measure could allow
dangerous
                 people to carry concealed weapons.

                 The Department of Public Safety has taken a
wait-and-see attitude in
                 Wagner's case. He has not again asked for his permit
back and no
                 court has ordered it returned, said Del Smith, deputy
commissioner.

                 "I think Finn was concerned about his behavior, and
rightly so," Smith
                 said. "He made some pretty bizarre claims."





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