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Committee advances bill requiring court review before restoring gun purchase eligibility after involuntary commitment
Summary
Representative Debbie Buckner’s HB285 would require people involuntarily committed to a mental‑health facility to return to the committing court for assessment before regaining firearm purchase eligibility; the committee approved the bill by voice vote after the author described background‑check purging issues.
Representative Debbie Buckner told the committee HB285 grew from a local law‑enforcement concern that automated purging of commitment records from background‑check systems every five years can allow people who were involuntarily committed to regain firearm‑purchase access without a court review. She said the bill would require a person released from involuntary commitment to return to the committing court for an assessment before having firearm rights restored.
"We feel that before a person that has been involuntarily committed to a mental‑health hospital gets their gun rights back after being released, they should go back to the court that involuntarily committed them for an assessment," Representative Buckner said. Committee members had no substantive questions and no members signed up to speak in opposition during the public‑comment slot; the committee adopted a motion to 'do pass' the bill by voice vote and instructed the sponsor on next steps to move the measure to the rules committee.
