Upon issuance of an order of protection that fully complies with federal law, present law requires the order to include on its face the following disclosures:  That the respondent is required to dispossess the respondent by any lawful means, such as transferring possession to a third party who is not prohibited from possessing firearms, of all firearms the respondent possesses within 48 hours of the issuance of the order.  That the respondent is prohibited from possessing a firearm for so long as the order of protection or any successive order of protection is in effect, and may reassume possession of the dispossessed firearm at such time as the order expires or is otherwise no longer in effect.  Notice of the penalty for any violation. In determining what a lawful means of dispossession is, present law provides the following guidance:  If the dispossession requires the approval of any state or federal agency prior to the transfer of the firearm, the respondent may comply with the dispossession requirement by having the firearm or firearms placed into a safe or similar container that is securely locked and to which the respondent does not have the combination, keys, or other means of normal access.  If the respondent is licensed as a federal firearms dealer or a responsible party under a federal firearms license, the determination of whether such an individual possesses firearms that constitute business inventory under the federal license is determined based upon the applicable federal statutes or the rules, regulations and official letters, rulings, and publications of the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. The order of protection must not require the surrender or transfer of the inventory if there are one or more individuals who are responsible parties under the federal license who are not the respondent subject to the order of protection. This bill adds to such guidance that if the respondent dispossesses firearms by transferring possession to a third party who is not prohibited from possessing firearms, then the respondent must specify the name of the third party and the physical address where all firearms are located. The third party's signature acknowledging receipt of the respondent's firearms is required on the affidavit of firearms dispossession form.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 36-3-625(f), 36-3-625