| December 9, 2021. As we predicted in yesterday's alert, not only are the so-called "safe storage" of firearms and new resident gun registration bills being heard in Assembly committee on Monday, December 13, but four additional gun bills have been added to the agenda, and it isn't pretty.
The additional bills are (1) a ban on 50 caliber firearms that will outlaw a huge number of firearms (not only the 50 BMG); (2) ammunition registration; (3) a ban on firearms that do not "microstamp" the firearm serial number on each round fired, and; (4) Renewal of FID cards every 4 years and a mandatory training required merely to OWN firearms. More detailed analysis of these bills by gun law attorney Evan Nappen is below.
PLEASE ONCE AGAIN CLICK HERE TO EMAIL EVERY ASSEMBLY MEMBER AND TELL THEM TO OPPOSE THE GUN BILLS BEING HEARD IN THE ASSEMBLY JUDICIARY COMMITTEE ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 13. TELL THEM THAT THESE PROPOSALS DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO STOP GUN CRIME OR GUN CRIMINALS, AND THAT THE ONLY THING THEY DO IS HARRASS HONEST, LAW-ABIDING PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT THE PROBLEM, AND THAT NO ONE WILL BE MADE SAFER BY ANY OF THESE BILLS.
Below is more detailed analysis of the bills being heard on Monday:
A1280 - 50 Caliber Ban · Bans any weapon capable of firing a center-fire cartridge of a caliber of 50 or greater” except shotguns. Will BAN ALL MODERN .50 CAL CENTERFIRE RIFLE AND HANDGUNS. Such as, 500 S&W, .500 Linebaugh, .50 Action Express, .50 Desert Eagle, .50 Beowulf, .500 GNR, .500 Wyoming Express, .50 GI, .50 BMG, .600 Nitro, .50 or greater Safari Rifles, 12.7 x 55mm, Antique .50 Centerfire Rifles like the .50-70 & .50-90 Sharps. The language appears purposely misleading. The “12,000 pounds” language comes AFTER a comma and in no way is the subsequent language a limitation. · Here is how the final language will read if passed: “(3) any weapon capable of firing a center-fire cartridge of a caliber of 50 or greater, which shall include any metric equivalent of 50 caliber or greater, that is capable of firing a projectile that attains a muzzle energy of 12,000 foot-pounds or greater in any combination of bullet, propellant, case, or primer. It also shall include any copy or duplicate of any weapon that is capable of firing a projectile that attains a muzzle energy of 12,000 foot-pounds or greater regardless of caliber. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to a smooth bore shotgun or rifle barrel shotgun or any shotgun ammunition generally recognized as suitable for sporting purposes in this State;”
· Other key provisions: one year for current fifty caliber owners to pay a $50 registration fee; no inheritance by heirs allowed; and civil liability for registered owners if their firearms are misused.
A1292 Handgun Ammunition Electronic Registration
· Every Dealer would be required to have an electronic record of the name of the ammunition manufacturer; the date of the transaction; the type; caliber or gauge of the ammunition; the quantity of the ammunition sold; the name, address, and date of birth of the purchaser.
· Dealers can charge up to $5 additional for a box of ammunition.
· In addition, the bill requires and creates an electronic reporting of handgun sales.
A5030 FPIC Expires After 4 Years; Training Required for New Applicants
· Firearms Purchaser ID Cards (FPIC) expire after 4 years.
· Gun owners will have to pay the fees, get fingerprinted and go through the whole application process every 4 years. The system is already overburdened and extremely inefficient. Every four years, everybody has to go get a new FPIC. How will the police administrative bureaucracy handle this (current process can take 6 months to 2 years!)?
· This Bill also includes language which will turn widows into felons if they fail to surrender possession of their deceased spouse's firearms within 30 days and they themselves do not have the NJ credentials needed to possess the firearms.
A5787 Semi-Automatic Handgun Micro-Stamping & Database
· This bill requires all newly manufactured semi-automatic handguns sold in New Jersey by dealers to be micro-stamped.
· Micro-stamping is a laser technology that can engrave or etch microscopic identifying characters on small objects. These characters would be engraved onto the internal working parts of the handgun to ensure that an alpha-numeric or geometric code is imprinted on the cartridge case when fired. The code would identify the make, model, and serial number of the handgun.
· The law would take effect on the first day of the 25th month following enactment. THIS IS ESSENTIALLY A SEMI-AUTOMATIC HANDGUN BAN AS THE TECHNOLOGY IS NOT USED BY ANY MAKER.
· A dealer who sells or transfers a handgun that is not micro-stamped would be a 4th degree crime.
· Defacing or removing or altering the microstamping mechanism would be a 3rd degree crime.
· A person who purchases or conceals a semi-automatic handgun knowing that the microstamping mechanism has been defaced or removed would be committing a 4th Degree Crime.
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