Such a person cannot understand her or his actions much less negotiate the complex judicial system. For us to execute a mentally retarded person is unfair and unjust. For the seventh year, a bill that would require insurance companies to cover mental health and substance abuse treatments failed to pass in the last legislature session. Studies have shown that mental health coverage has led to only minimal increases in insurance costs while saving taxpayers money. 17 State employees in NC have mental health and substance abuse coverage.
All citizens have a right to such coverage.
Seventy-five percent of the guns used in juvenile suicides were improperly stored. 18 North Carolina law does not even define what constitutes safe storage of guns. Lawmakers should require that firearms are stored unloaded in a lock box or with a trigger lock and that ammunition is stored separately. In addition, policymakers should apply the safe storage law to any home where children may occasionally be present. Currently, the law only applies to homes where children reside.