Controversial NJ Firearms Bill Passes Senate, Murphy Slated To Sign

NEW JERSEY - The New Jersey State Senate approved controversial legislation Monday aimed at strengthening firearm laws in the state -with new limits on where firearms can be carried and who can access them - following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to loosen federal regulations earlier this year.

S3214/A-4769, approved in a 21-16 Senate vote Monday, would bar individuals from carrying firearms around restaurants, government buildings, schools, universities, senior centers, childcare facilities, parks/recreational spaces, areas where large groups congregate and places where “intoxicating substances are sold,” to name a few.

The bill has since been handed down to Gov. Phil Murphy, who has vowed to “swiftly” sign the legislation, a spokesperson told NJ.com. He's expected to sign it into law later this week, the outlet reported.

“New Jersey continues to be a leader on gun safety with laws that help keep our communities safe,” said Senate President Nick Scutari in a statement announcing the vote. “This bill will help prevent gun violence with common-sense standards to require training, promote gun safety and prevent firearms from being carried into sensitive locations. Finally, this new law will help provide a tool for law-enforcement in our fight against illegal gun trafficking.”

The proposed legislation would also set training standards for permit holders and mandate property owners to give consent to allow visitors to carry guns on their premises, according to Scutari's statement. The bill also aims to limit certain people from obtaining guns, such as those committed voluntarily or involuntarily for mental health issues, as well as require insurance coverage for gun owners, mandate more comprehensive background checks and raise carry permit fees from $50 to $200.

Those seeking to violate the legislation would face between three and five years in jail and up to $15,000 in fines.

Roughly 8 percent of New Jersey firearms owners carry firearms outside the home and is most common among New Jersey firearms owners between 25 and 54 years old, Rutgers University’s Gun Violence Research Center said in its 2022 annual report.

Read more: Supreme Court's Gun Law Ruling 'Undermines' NJ's Safety: AG

While the bill has received support from the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, the State Troopers Fraternal Association of New Jersey, the Association of Former New Jersey State Troopers, and the New Jersey State Troopers Non-Commissioned Officers Association, all Republican senators voted no during the Monday vote, with Sen. Ed Durr (R-Gloucester) arguing the bill doesn’t protect some individuals – such as domestic violence victims – from defending themselves.

“In June, the U.S. Supreme Court reminded everyone that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right – it must be given the same respect as any other constitutional right,” Durr said during an October hearing in the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee. “That’s true whether the firearm owner is a wealthy business owner or a low-wage worker. We all have the right to self-defense. Yet, between all the high fees, insurance mandates, and intense regulatory requirements, this bill would make it pretty much impossible for a person of modest means to defend him or herself.”

Sen. Tony Bucco (R-Morris) noted he doesn’t know of any New Jersey companies that offer insurance described in the bill.

“So today, we could vote on a piece of legislation that establishes a requirement that no one in the state can meet,” Bucco said, per the New Jersey Monitor.

However, Senate Democrats still argue the bill provides the correct framework to curb gun violence in a state with an average 475 average annual firearms deaths, according to Rutgers University’s Gun Violence Research Center. 93 mass shootings and three mass murders have also occurred in the state since 2013, according to the state’s Gun Violence Archieve, with 2,306 lives lost due to gun violence in the last decade.

Still, New Jersey touts among the lowest per capita gun deaths in the U.S., with states with more laid back gun laws, like Mississippi and Wyoming, showing statistically higher rates of gun violence, per CDC data.

“The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year stripped away the right for states to regulate who is able to carry concealed weapons in public,” said Sen. Linda Greenstein, the chair of the Law and Public Safety Committee, who also serves as the primary sponsor of the bill. “We must do everything we can to make sure New Jersey families remain safe and protected while enjoying all New Jersey has to offer. I believe this bill is a promising step in the right direction.”

Several groups have since threatened to challenge the proposed legislation – including New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs – calling the move unconstitutional. New York has since encountered obstacles imposing a similar state law that established new requirements for obtaining a concealed-carry license, with a federal judge temporarily blocking parts of the law Oct. 6.

New York's law, which went into effect Sept. 1, established new requirements for obtaining a license, including submitting social-media accounts for review, and made it a felony for all, including permit holders, from carrying a gun in certain public and private locations. New York Attorney General Letitia James said the state will appeal the ruling.

New Jersey has the nation's strictest gun laws besides California, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. But the Murphy administration proposed new regulations in April 2021 that became law July 5, gaining urgency among legislative Democrats in the wake of several prominent mass shootings around the nation. Read more: NJ Beefs Up Gun Laws After String Of U.S. Mass Shootings

The new laws will prohibit .50 caliber rifles, increase penalties for crimes related to manufacturing and constructing ghost guns, limit the legal use of body armor to mostly law enforcement and armed services, regulate handgun-ammunition sales, require gun retailers to sell microstamping-enabled firearms, make safety training mandatory to purchase a firearm, and require out-of-state residents who relocate to New Jersey to obtain an ID card and register their weapon with law enforcement.

–With reporting by Josh Bakan.