§ 14-404. Issuance or refusal of permit; appeal from refusal; grounds for refusal; sheriff's fee.
§ 14‑404. Issuance orrefusal of permit; appeal from refusal; grounds for refusal; sheriff's fee.
(a) Upon application,the sheriff shall issue the license or permit to a resident of that county,unless the purpose of the permit is for collecting, in which case a sheriff canissue a permit to a nonresident, when the sheriff has done all of thefollowing:
(1) Verified, before theissuance of a permit, by a criminal history background investigation that it isnot a violation of State or federal law for the applicant to purchase,transfer, receive, or possess a handgun. The sheriff shall determine thecriminal and background history of any applicant by accessing computerizedcriminal history records as maintained by the State Bureau of Investigation andthe Federal Bureau of Investigation, by conducting a national criminal historyrecords check, by conducting a check through the National Instant CriminalBackground Check System (NICS), and by conducting a criminal history checkthrough the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(2) Fully satisfiedhimself or herself by affidavits, oral evidence, or otherwise, as to the goodmoral character of the applicant.
(3) Fully satisfiedhimself or herself that the applicant desires the possession of the weaponmentioned for (i) the protection of the home, business, person, family orproperty, (ii) target shooting, (iii) collecting, or (iv) hunting.
(b) If the sheriff isnot fully satisfied, the sheriff may, for good cause shown, decline to issuethe license or permit and shall provide to the applicant within seven days ofthe refusal a written statement of the reason(s) for the refusal. An appealfrom the refusal shall lie by way of petition to the chief judge of thedistrict court for the district in which the application was filed. Thedetermination by the court, on appeal, shall be upon the facts, the law, andthe reasonableness of the sheriff's refusal, and shall be final.
(c) A permit may not beissued to the following persons:
(1) One who is under anindictment or information for or has been convicted in any state, or in anycourt of the United States, of a felony (other than an offense pertaining toantitrust violations, unfair trade practices, or restraints of trade). However,a person who has been convicted of a felony in a court of any state or in acourt of the United States and who is later pardoned may obtain a permit, ifthe purchase or receipt of a pistol or crossbow permitted in this Article doesnot violate a condition of the pardon.
(2) One who is afugitive from justice.
(3) One who is anunlawful user of or addicted to marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, ornarcotic drug (as defined in 21 U.S.C. section 802).
(4) One who has beenadjudicated mentally incompetent or has been committed to any mental institution.
(5) One who is an alienillegally or unlawfully in the United States.
(6) One who has beendischarged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions.
(7) One who, having beena citizen of the United States, has renounced his or her citizenship.
(8) One who is subjectto a court order that:
a. Was issued after ahearing of which the person received actual notice, and at which the person hadan opportunity to participate;
b. Restrains the personfrom harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of the person orchild of the intimate partner of the person, or engaging in other conduct thatwould place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to thepartner or child; and
c. Includes a findingthat the person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of theintimate partner or child; or by its terms explicitly prohibits the use,attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the intimate partneror child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury.
(d) Nothing in thisArticle shall apply to officers authorized by law to carry firearms if theofficers identify themselves to the vendor or donor as being officersauthorized by law to carry firearms and state that the purpose for the purchaseof the firearms is directly related to the law officers' official duties.
(e) The sheriff shallcharge for the sheriff's services upon issuing the license or permit a fee offive dollars ($5.00).
(f) Each applicant fora license or permit shall be informed by the sheriff within 30 days of the dateof the application whether the license or permit will be granted or denied and,if granted, the license or permit shall be immediately issued to the applicant.
(g) An applicant shallnot be ineligible to receive a permit under subdivision (c)(4) of this sectionbecause of involuntary commitment to mental health services if the individual'srights have been restored under G.S. 122C‑54.1. (1919, c. 197, s. 3; C.S.,s. 5108; 1959, c. 1073, s. 2; 1969, c. 73; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1395, s.1; 1987, c. 518, s. 1; 1995, c. 487, s. 2; 2006‑39, s. 1; 2006‑264,s. 4; 2008‑210, s. 3(a); 2009‑570, s. 7.)