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North Dakota lawmakers look to beef up gun restoration laws

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Cass County Sheriff's Office in Fargo, N.D. shows Marcus Schumacher, the suspect in the February 2016 shooting death of Fargo police Officer Jason Moszer. Moszer's death has some legislators looking at changing North Dakota's gun laws that allow someone who has killed another person to lawfully own a weapon. Schumacher became eligible to own guns 10 years after serving a sentence for shooting and killing a Grand Forks man. (Cass County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Cass County Sheriff's Office in Fargo, N.D. shows Marcus Schumacher, the suspect in the February 2016 shooting death of Fargo police Officer Jason Moszer. Moszer's death has some legislators looking at changing North Dakota's gun laws that allow someone who has killed another person to lawfully own a weapon. Schumacher became eligible to own guns 10 years after serving a sentence for shooting and killing a Grand Forks man. (Cass County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)

By Associated Press March 4, 2016 1 min read

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – The fatal shooting of a Fargo police officer responding to a domestic disturbance has spurred efforts to clamp down on North Dakota’s gun restoration laws, which researchers say are among the most forgiving in the nation.

The suspect in the Feb. 10 shooting death of Officer Jason Moszer was convicted of negligent homicide for shooting a Grand Forks man in 1988, but state laws did not disqualify Marcus Schumacher from having his gun rights restored.

Republican Rep. Blair Thoreson lives in the district where the shooting took place. He is proposing a bill prohibiting violent felons from possessing firearms.

Republican House majority leader Al Carlson says he’s open to discussing the proposal but wouldn’t commit to supporting it until he can analyze the written bill. The Legislature convenes in 2007.