On Thursday, March 20, New Jersey Democrats are scheduled to resume their attack on the Second Amendment in yet another Assembly committee hearing.The first hearing took place last month.Now a different Assembly committee is scheduled to consider this same legislation on Thursday (Assembly Appropriations).

The move is a calculated distraction tactic by state Democrats in an election year, to change the subject from the extraordinary levels of government waste, fraud, and abuse being uncovered nationally, as well as the failure to address New Jersey's chronic fiscal problems and over taxation of the citizenry.

Please click this link to contact all New Jersey Assembly members.Tell them to oppose all new gun bills being proposed Thursday in the Assembly Appropriations Committee or thereafter in the full Assembly. Tell them to stop attacking Second Amendment rights instead of punishing criminals, and tell them you will vote against any lawmaker this November who attacks the Second Amendment.

The bills scheduled to be considered Thursday are as follows:

A.4974 prescribes penalties for the sale and possession of “machine gun conversion devices.” Such devices are already banned at both the state and federal level.

A.4975 creates a crime for possession of digital instructions to illegally manufacture firearms or firearm components. This legislation creates a crime even if someone never produces a gun or component. Simply having a digital file for a component on your computer makes you a criminal.

A.4976 establishes the crime of reckless discharge. Discharging a firearm in New Jersey is already illegal unless done “for a lawful purpose,” which is an affirmative defense. This is nothing more than a swipe at concealed carry. Now, every time a firearm is used, even in legitimate self-defense situations, prosecutors will have more tools to harass law-abiding gun owners. There is also no exception for accidental discharges.

A.1389 requires confiscation of ammunition and firearms components in response to domestic violence restraining orders or convictions. This bill applies to accusations, even false accusations, not just convictions. Current law already requires confiscation of firearms, but this bill is absurd as it would now require confiscation of components like spare grips, scope caps, cleaning kits, choke tubes, holsters and slings.

A.5345 mandates the use of Merchant Category Codes.This is nothing more than government sanctioned snooping that can be used to create a firearms registry or discriminate against gun owners and lawful businesses.