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Can I get my GFL?

2K views 35 replies 10 participants last post by  SigP229 
#1 ·
[No message]
 
#4 ·
If you put yourself in and it was not court ordered, I don't know if there is any way it would show up. I would look into having a background check pulled before wasting the time and money to apply.

Any of the legal eagles on here care to offer an opinion?
 
#5 ·
:ianal:

I would saw no. The system does not generally penalize folks for seeking treatment voluntarily. It may place limitations on you; case in point: I had a pilot buddy go through similar situation, wife was leaving him, began suffering from depression, got treated for it. Because of the medication he was taking, he was prohibited from flying because his medical certificate was suspended. It required documentation from his doctor regarding his progress for the FAA to finally re-issue his medical certificate. Considering this was 5 years ago, I'm inclined to believe that this will be a non-issue.

You spoke of a divorce... were there any restraining, or no-contact orders, or any thing similar? Anything that falls under the umbrella of protecting from domestic violence could influence your ability to get a GFL.

Your first step would to read the actual GA code and examining those concerns that would prohibit you from receiving a GFL. Doing a background check would not hurt, but read the code first... the more educated you are at the beginning of the process, the better.

You said this was five years ago. How are you now? Would you trust yourself to carry? Would I trust you to carry?
 
#8 ·
The ineligibility factors are in the code, and the code is here on this site. From 16-11-129(b)(4):

(4) Any individual who has been hospitalized as an inpatient in any mental hospital or alcohol or drug treatment center within five years of the date of his or her application. The probate judge may require any applicant to sign a waiver authorizing any mental hospital or treatment center to inform the judge whether or not the applicant has been an inpatient in any such facility in the last five years and authorizing the superintendent of such facility to make to the judge a recommendation regarding whether a license to carry a pistol or revolver should be issued. When such a waiver is required by the probate judge, the applicant shall pay to the probate judge a fee of $3.00 for reimbursement of the cost of making such a report by the mental health hospital, alcohol or drug treatment center, or the Department of Human Resources, which the probate judge shall remit to the hospital, center, or department. The judge shall keep any such hospitalization or treatment information confidential. It shall be at the discretion of the probate judge, considering the circumstances surrounding the hospitalization and the recommendation of the superintendent of the hospital or treatment center where the individual was a patient, to issue the license or renewal license;

There is nothing in there about voluntary or involuntary. Having been an in patient within 5 years converts the license into a "may issue." Please research before posting answers to people, or tell them where to look, unless you have memorized the answer. Use the yellow Gun Laws tab, above.
 
#10 ·
It may only be anecdotal, and I know the law as written doesn't make any distinction, but I have a friend who voluntarily admitted herself to a mental health care facility because of depression related circumstances and she received her GFL with no problem, even though it was within the timeframe specified in the statute. I think the difference may be that voluntary admissions fall under the HIPAA laws and do not have to be reported to any government entity.

Keep in mind, I am not a lawyer and this is only my speculation based on an anecdot. MP gave the actual statute.
 
#11 ·
Thorsen said:
It may only be anecdotal, and I know the law as written doesn't make any distinction, but I have a friend who voluntarily admitted herself to a mental health care facility because of depression related circumstances and she received her GFL with no problem, even though it was within the timeframe specified in the statute. I think the difference may be that voluntary admissions fall under the HIPAA laws and do not have to be reported to any government entity.

Keep in mind, I am not a lawyer and this is only my speculation based on an anecdot. MP gave the actual statute.
That was why I wondered if it would even show up on a background check. The only way probate would know would be if a person were honest in answering the questions on the application.

I would venture to say that 99.9% of people actually applying for a GFL would be completely honest, but turn on the news and anything is possible.
 
#12 ·
wsweeks2 said:
The only way probate would know would be if a person were honest in answering the questions on the application.
Not so. As you can see in the statute, the probate judge can make any applicant sign a waiver. Some do it as a matter of course. That waiver gets around the privacy laws.
 
#14 ·
SigP229 said:
Thanks for all the answers. I wouldn't even consider being misleading on the application. I just wanted to see if it would be worth even trying or should I just wait the 5 years. I just figured that if there was a chance that a judge would grant one based on the circumstances then I'd give it a shot.
Well, the answer is contained in the statute. It is a discretionary issue license for you for the next three years. It is completely up to the probate judge. Essentially, you are ineligible, but the probate judge has discretion to issue to you anyway. By the way, the Attorney General has opined that this is the only matter on which a probate judge has discretion when passing on firearms license applications.

It cannot jurt to give it a shot, especially if you can credibly affirm that you have not touched a drop in two years.

If you are denied, you can reapply at the end of the five years, and the probate judge will no longer have discretion on the issue. You will either be qualified or not, assuming no more inpatient treatments.
 
#15 ·
Malum Prohibitum said:
wsweeks2 said:
The only way probate would know would be if a person were honest in answering the questions on the application.
Not so. As you can see in the statute, the probate judge can make any applicant sign a waiver. Some do it as a matter of course. That waiver gets around the privacy laws.
Gotcha. I wasn't required to sign a waiver, so I wasn't aware of this stipulation.
 
#16 ·
wsweeks2 said:
Malum Prohibitum said:
wsweeks2 said:
The only way probate would know would be if a person were honest in answering the questions on the application.
Not so. As you can see in the statute, the probate judge can make any applicant sign a waiver. Some do it as a matter of course. That waiver gets around the privacy laws.
Gotcha. I wasn't required to sign a waiver, so I wasn't aware of this stipulation.
Same here. No waiver signed.
 
#23 ·
I have a friend who's in recovery. She went to treatment, and after she'd been clean for two years, she applied for a GFL. (Her husband didn't get help and became abusive.)

It took the usual four months (Cobb Co.), but she didn't hit any hurdles. From what I gather, the "inpatient" thing is if you were court-ordered. It applies to folks who've plead insanity, and also DUI, as there's a stipulation that the offender pursue treatment.
 
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