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New Jersey governor signs wide-ranging restrictions on carrying guns in face of certain legal challenge
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zinn
Dec 23, 2022, 5:20:36 AM12/23/22
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SCOTCH PLAINS, N.J. — Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Thursday that
will sharply limit where guns can be carried in New Jersey, a direct
response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s summer ruling that expanded gun-carry
rights.
The wide ranging measure, A4769 (22R), also overhauls the state’s process
for receiving a concealed carry permit and mandates the purchase of
liability insurance for people carrying handguns in public. The law is
among the nation’s most stringent gun carry rules, which Murphy and
legislative leaders said was necessary to prevent gun violence.
“What kind of state do we want to be? Do we want to be like Mississippi or
Alabama, whose firearm death rates are nearly five times ours, or do we
want to remain a state where people can actually be and feel safe?” Murphy
said at a bill signing event flanked by gun control advocates in red “Moms
Demand Action” shirts. “This law ensures that no matter what Washington
might throw at us, we will keep doing everything we can to ensure the
safety of our citizens.”
The new law will face an imminent federal court challenge from gun rights
groups seeking to overturn it.
“Not only will this legislation go down in flames in our lawsuit, but the
Murphy administration will end up paying the very substantial legal costs
of gun owners to bring it down,” Scott Bach, executive director of the
Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, said in a statement.
New Jersey has earned a reputation for having among the strictest gun
control laws in the nation. Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, residents of the
state hoping to carry a gun outside their home had to demonstrate
“justifiable need” — a standard that essentially disqualified most
applicants.
The Supreme Court’s summer ruling voided that standard, turning gun carry
laws in New Jersey and other blue states upside down. New York, which saw
its similar restrictive gun carry rules overturned by the ruling, passed a
stringent gun carry law over the summer that restricted where guns can be
carried. The measure is also facing a legal challenge.
Murphy acknowledged the possibility of a legal challenge, but said the
state was ready to defend the law.
“We know the gun lobby and its acolytes are already preparing to take us
to court to block these common sense measures,” the governor said. “The
Attorney General and his team are fully prepared to forcefully defend the
constitutionality of this bill. … Even if any part of the law is
successfully challenged, the rest of it would remain intact and
enforceable.”
Attorney General Matt Platkin called it an “entirely constitutional bill”
during the bill signing.
The new law has 25 broad “sensitive places” where carrying guns would be
illegal, like government buildings, public transportation and day care
centers. It extends to any private property where the owner does not give
permission to carry guns. Violations would be a third degree crime.
The bill signing was held at a library, one of the places where guns are
prohibited under the new law.
The law also tightens the requirements to obtain a carry permit. It
requires rigorous training requirements for concealed carry applicants
with target training as well as online and in-person classroom
instruction. A handgun permit application will jump from $2 to $25.
People who want to carry guns are also required to purchase liability
insurance. San Jose, Ca., has a similar mandate scheduled to go into
effect in January, although there is no similar statewide mandate in the
country.
The legislation was put on the fast-track in October and was announced
with the support of Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President
Nick Scutari. Murphy, a progressive Democrat, has long favored tightening
the state’s strict gun laws. New Jersey has the third lowest rate of gun
deaths in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Republicans and gun rights groups have uniformly opposed the measure,
saying it oversteps the constitutional bounds of what the U.S. Supreme
Court allows. Not a single Republican voted to support the bill in the
state legislature.
“It’s a shame the Democratic Majority would not work with Republicans to
ensure that the concealed carry of firearms can be managed in a safe,
reasonable, and constitutional way,” state Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris)
said in a statement. "... It’s an overreaching attempt by Democrats to see
how far they can go in rolling back the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision
while imposing even greater restrictions on law-abiding firearm owners
than ever before.”
The bill passed the Assembly 43-29-1 and the Senate 21-16 after
contentious debate.
Only one Democrat, outgoing state Sen. Nick Sacco (D-Hudson), voted
against the measure, saying he felt it was unconstitutional.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/22/new-jersey-governor-gun-law-
00075140
will sharply limit where guns can be carried in New Jersey, a direct
response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s summer ruling that expanded gun-carry
rights.
The wide ranging measure, A4769 (22R), also overhauls the state’s process
for receiving a concealed carry permit and mandates the purchase of
liability insurance for people carrying handguns in public. The law is
among the nation’s most stringent gun carry rules, which Murphy and
legislative leaders said was necessary to prevent gun violence.
“What kind of state do we want to be? Do we want to be like Mississippi or
Alabama, whose firearm death rates are nearly five times ours, or do we
want to remain a state where people can actually be and feel safe?” Murphy
said at a bill signing event flanked by gun control advocates in red “Moms
Demand Action” shirts. “This law ensures that no matter what Washington
might throw at us, we will keep doing everything we can to ensure the
safety of our citizens.”
The new law will face an imminent federal court challenge from gun rights
groups seeking to overturn it.
“Not only will this legislation go down in flames in our lawsuit, but the
Murphy administration will end up paying the very substantial legal costs
of gun owners to bring it down,” Scott Bach, executive director of the
Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, said in a statement.
New Jersey has earned a reputation for having among the strictest gun
control laws in the nation. Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, residents of the
state hoping to carry a gun outside their home had to demonstrate
“justifiable need” — a standard that essentially disqualified most
applicants.
The Supreme Court’s summer ruling voided that standard, turning gun carry
laws in New Jersey and other blue states upside down. New York, which saw
its similar restrictive gun carry rules overturned by the ruling, passed a
stringent gun carry law over the summer that restricted where guns can be
carried. The measure is also facing a legal challenge.
Murphy acknowledged the possibility of a legal challenge, but said the
state was ready to defend the law.
“We know the gun lobby and its acolytes are already preparing to take us
to court to block these common sense measures,” the governor said. “The
Attorney General and his team are fully prepared to forcefully defend the
constitutionality of this bill. … Even if any part of the law is
successfully challenged, the rest of it would remain intact and
enforceable.”
Attorney General Matt Platkin called it an “entirely constitutional bill”
during the bill signing.
The new law has 25 broad “sensitive places” where carrying guns would be
illegal, like government buildings, public transportation and day care
centers. It extends to any private property where the owner does not give
permission to carry guns. Violations would be a third degree crime.
The bill signing was held at a library, one of the places where guns are
prohibited under the new law.
The law also tightens the requirements to obtain a carry permit. It
requires rigorous training requirements for concealed carry applicants
with target training as well as online and in-person classroom
instruction. A handgun permit application will jump from $2 to $25.
People who want to carry guns are also required to purchase liability
insurance. San Jose, Ca., has a similar mandate scheduled to go into
effect in January, although there is no similar statewide mandate in the
country.
The legislation was put on the fast-track in October and was announced
with the support of Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President
Nick Scutari. Murphy, a progressive Democrat, has long favored tightening
the state’s strict gun laws. New Jersey has the third lowest rate of gun
deaths in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
Republicans and gun rights groups have uniformly opposed the measure,
saying it oversteps the constitutional bounds of what the U.S. Supreme
Court allows. Not a single Republican voted to support the bill in the
state legislature.
“It’s a shame the Democratic Majority would not work with Republicans to
ensure that the concealed carry of firearms can be managed in a safe,
reasonable, and constitutional way,” state Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris)
said in a statement. "... It’s an overreaching attempt by Democrats to see
how far they can go in rolling back the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision
while imposing even greater restrictions on law-abiding firearm owners
than ever before.”
The bill passed the Assembly 43-29-1 and the Senate 21-16 after
contentious debate.
Only one Democrat, outgoing state Sen. Nick Sacco (D-Hudson), voted
against the measure, saying he felt it was unconstitutional.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/22/new-jersey-governor-gun-law-
00075140
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