New Jersey: One Session Ends as Another Begins

The Legislature wrapped up the 2025 legislative session late on Monday, January 12^th. A long voting session included several gun bills that NRA-ILA testified against during the session.

The Senate took final action, passing two problematic bills, A.4974 prescribing penalties for machine gun diversion devices utilizing a definition that is inconsistent with existing federal law and A.4976a establishing the crime of reckless discharge which could potentially jeopardize situations of legitimate self-defense. 

The Governor signed S.1425, which expands culpability requirements for firearms trafficking offenses and violations of regulatory provisions relating to firearms. Having little to do with actual gun trafficking, this bill could potentially put dealers in legal jeopardy by second-guessing transactions already cleared by federal and state NICS checks.

In a surprising move, Governor Phil Murphy issued a conditional veto of A.4978, which requires the Attorney General to report data regarding shootings that did not result in bodily injury. NRA-ILA opposed this bill as nothing more than an attempt to manipulate data for future use in pushing more gun restrictions. Ironically, the Governor’s conditional veto message sided with our argument that this would add cases that shouldn’t be included. Ultimately, the Senate concurred with the Governor’s message and approved the amended version of A.4978 by a vote of 27-9.

Thank you to all NRA members who contacted their legislators during the session. Your action makes a difference. Due to strong opposition from gun owners, some anti-Second Amendment bills were amended, several did not pass, and as we saw this week, another was conditionally vetoed and amended. Unfortunately, there will be no respite, as the Legislature began the 2026 legislative session today, Tuesday, January 13. As in 2025, the Legislature is expected to pursue an anti-gun agenda.

Gun owners and sportsmen throughout the state must stay actively involved to defend freedom.

Your NRA will continue to fight to promote and protect your right to keep and bear arms and hunting heritage. Our members remain the most powerful political force in American history, and together, we will secure the Second Amendment for present and future generations.

Please continue to check www.NRAILA.org and your email inbox for NRA-ILA alerts on the latest action items. NRA-ILA will keep you updated on Second Amendment and hunting-related legislation.