By MARY PEMBERTON Associated Press writer
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.
"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.