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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