New Jersey: Assembly Committee Advances Gun Bills With Senate Action Tomorrow

Anybody expecting a cliffhanger today in Trenton went home disappointed. Democrats on the Assembly Judiciary Committee voted as expected, in lockstep, to advance every gun bill on the agenda. There were a couple of bills where they hesitated and expressed concern, but they still voted “aye” because they can’t pass enough gun bills to ever quench their thirst.

And, there were plenty of concerns voiced. Your NRA-ILA was there to testify today against the gun bill package, along with the official NRA state association, ANJRPC. After testifying against the .50 Caliber ban and microstamping, NRA State Director Darin Goens was asked by Republican Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn why he thought these bills were being offered if they do not work, and why these heavy and expensive guns are not being used in crime.

“Because there is nothing left for them to do. New Jersey has adopted dozens of gun laws in recent years, and now we are scraping the bottom of the barrel,” said Goens. This was a specific shot at microstamping, which was adopted by California in 1999, and has still never been implemented, even after nearly 25 years! Goens also pressed lawmakers to name one case where a .50 caliber BMG was used to commit a crime in the Garden State. Unphased by the sheer lack of evidence supporting these bills, Democrats on the panel voted to advance them anyway.

As of this morning, the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee did not have any gun bills on the agenda for tomorrow. That changed while we were on the Assembly side, testifying against Murphy’s gun grab. The Senate posted over half a dozen gun bills for tomorrow’s hearing at 10:00AM, with less than 24 hours notice! Many states actually have rules, if not laws, against doing that. Not New Jersey. 

The following bills will be heard in the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee tomorrow morning:

S.1204 requires residents moving into the state to register their handguns and obtain FID cards.

S.2846 upgrades certain crimes related to manufacturing firearms from third degree to second degree.

S.2903 is registration of handgun ammunition.

S.2905 bans the .50 Caliber BMG.

S.2906 requires mandatory training for an FID card and 4-year renewals. 

S.2907 is a bill attempting forced market acceptance of microstamping, similar to Smart Guns, that will eventually lead to an outright ban on the sale of new, traditional handguns.

Please contact your Senator immediately and ask that they vote NO on all of the gun bills. Your action makes a difference! We will continue to be in Trenton testifying against these bills. Gun owner objections matter. One of the bills did not appear on the Assembly agenda today, and another has been taken off of the Senate agenda.