| On Thursday, December 9, at 1:00 p.m., the New Jersey Senate Law and Public Safety Committee is scheduled to hear S372 – legislation that fundamentally misunderstands current NJ law and creates a double-standard, imposing registration mandates on immigrants moving into NJ with firearms that do not exist for current residents. Whoever authored this bill fundamentally misunderstands how existing law affects current NJ residents. They then applied that misunderstanding to incoming new residents, in a failed effort to create a consistent standard, but instead they have created a chaotic double standard that treats new residents differently from current residents. For example: - S372 requires new residents to register long guns (rifles and shotguns) that they previously purchased. But existing residents have never been required to register long guns. In fact, there isn’t even a registry in NJ for long guns, and it would have to be created. But S372 casually and incorrectly acts as if there is, and requires new residents to register long guns they are bringing with them. So S372 creates an odd double standard. -Another strange effect of S372 is that new residents would be required to register previously-acquired long guns when they move in, yet after they move in, they can newly purchase as many long guns as they want without having to register the purchase of any of them! -For handguns, S372 creates yet another double-standard. Current residents are not required to register certain classes of handguns, yet this legislation treats incoming residents inconsistently and mandates their registration. For example, a current resident is not required to register inherited handguns, certain classes of antique and black powder handguns, handguns acquired before they came to NJ, and handguns acquired prior to enactment of New Jersey’s handgun purchase permit laws. Yet an incoming resident who previously acquired these same classes of handguns in the same way is treated differently and required to register them all. -S372 fails to recognize the gigantic distinction between treatment of long guns and handguns under existing NJ law, and treats all firearms as indistinguishable for new residents, once again creating a huge double-standard. -S372 mandates that incoming residents bringing firearms must obtain a NJ Firearms Purchaser ID Card (FPIC), even if they never purchase another firearm again. Yet the FPIC purchaser card exists as a credential for the purpose of making new purchases in NJ, not as a form to register gun owners. In fact, such a registry would be unlawful and would not survive scrutiny under a U.S. Supreme Court precedent (U.S. v. Haynes), and the “possession” of firearms in NJ does not even require a FPIC card for current residents (possession is authorized by way of exceptions to a general ban on possession). -S372 also conflicts with existing NJ law, which makes it clear that registration of firearms previously acquired is VOLUNTARY, not mandatory. The NJ State Police have even created a form for those choosing to voluntarily register such firearms. The author of this legislation does not appear to understand how existing NJ law works. The legislation creates a double standard that treats existing residents dramatically differently from incoming residents. The bill is clearly not ready for prime time and should be defeated. | 
