New Jersey Action Needed: Senate Committee Passes Multiple Gun Control Bills

Yesterday, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee considered and passed multiple anti-gun measures.  The below listed bills will now head to the Senate floor.  Companion versions of these bills have already passed the Assembly, so your Senator needs to hear from you now more than ever.  Please contact your state Senator and urge them to OPPOSE these gun control bills.

• S.102 by Sen. Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D) is a magazine and gun ban.  This legislation would ban magazines with a capacity greater than 10.  We all know magazine bans do nothing except punish law-abiding gun owners because criminals by definition ignore laws.  This bill would put honest citizens in jeopardy during violent criminal attacks and would subject them to prosecution for possessing what is currently legal property.  This bill would turn the majority of New Jersey’s 1 million gun owners into felons overnight. 
• S.160 by Sen. Vin Gopal (D) would allow for suspension of gun rights by unaccountable “health professionals.”  This bill goes so far as to allow marriage counselors, social workers and nurses to cause suspension of your legal rights.
• S.2376 by Sen. Linda Greenstein (D) codifies New Jersey’s “justifiable need” standard for the issuance of concealed carry permits.  The bill is a striking blow to the basic fundamental right to self-defense outside the home.  It creates a standard so onerous that nobody can meet it, hence the issuance of permits in New Jersey is close to non-existent.   
• S.2245 by Sen. Fred Madden, Jr. (D) bans handgun ammunition which is already banned under federal law.  This bill does nothing to improve public safety and is a classic example of the asinine nature of New Jersey gun laws as a whole.  This is nothing more than political pandering to gun banners.
• S.2374 by Sen. Linda Greenstein (D) would require background checks on all firearm transfers.  Again, this is redundant because all transactions in New Jersey require a background check.  The private transfer of long guns requires an FID card and the issuance of that card requires fingerprinting, a background check and references, among other things.  This bill does nothing except add another layer of bureaucracy and fees to an already cumbersome and duplicative process. 
• S.2465 by Sen. Joseph Cryan (D) would prohibit purchasing firearm components to unlawfully manufacture a firearm without a serial number.  This bill has not been heard in the Assembly yet.

Again, please contact your state Senator immediately and strongly urge them to OPPOSE the above listed anti-gun legislation.

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One of the scheduled bills, S.2259 by Sen. Richard Codey (D), was held from the agenda and not considered.  S.2259 creates extreme risk protection orders whereby firearms can be seized and constitutional rights suspended with little to no due process.  The bill fails to penalize those who fabricate accusations, and it does nothing to improve public safety.