New Jersey Senate To Consider Final Anti Gun Bills Thursday – Make the Calls

Agenda Fails to Include Easy Fixes on Gun Owner Issues
Agenda Includes .50 Ban and Horrific FID Bill
Contact Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Your Senator ASAP

Trenton, NJ –-(Ammoland.com)- On Thursday, May 30 2013, the New Jersey State Senate is scheduled to hold a full floor vote on the remaining gun bills in the Senate package, plus four new bills that were just added to the agenda.

Glaringly absent from the agenda are simple, easy fixes to longstanding issues that have plagued law-abiding gun owners, which ANJRPC has been pressing for months. These include an “Aitken’s Law” concept (to prevent law-abiding gun owners from being turned into criminals for hyper-technical transportation violations); enforcement of the 30-day permit issuance deadline already required by law but ignored by permitting authorities; and extension of handgun permits to one year.

A small group of gun ban extremists in the legislature have stonewalled these reasonable, common-sense proposals which have no downside to anyone, revealing utter contempt and ill will toward gun owners.

Please immediately contact Senate President Stephen Sweeney, your State Senator, and the Senate Majority Office and (1) urge them to oppose all upcoming anti-gun bills; and (2) demand that they include “Aitken’s Law,” 30-day permitting enforcement, and 1-year handgun permits on Thursday’s agenda.

SENATE PRESIDENT STEPHEN SWEENEY (D3)
 [email protected]
(856) 251-9801 office
(856) 251-9752 fax

SENATE MAJORITY OFFICE
Phone: 609-847-3700
Fax:609-633-7254

The complete agenda for Thursday’s Senate floor vote (including non-gun bills) is available here (click “May 30” on calendar in center of page, then select “Senate Session.”). Here is the current list of gun bills to be voted on Thursday, with ANJRPC’s comments (links are to the most recent versions of the bills):

• S2723 (Throws out existing FID cards & replaces with driver license endorsement or other form of ID; suspends Second Amendment rights without proof of firearms training, including for all current handgun owners; imposes 7-day waiting period for handgun purchases; ends all private sales; effectively creates a registry of ammunition purchases and long gun sales; additional impacts. Do not be misled by claims that this bill benefits gun owners. This bill is poison with one or two drops of sugar added).
• S2178 (Bans fifty caliber and similar firearms. The current version was amended to make the bill effective immediately – specifically to prevent law-abiding citizens with pending orders for these firearms from taking possession of them. Grandfathering of those who already own these firearms has been added – but the guns must be registered, and owners could have civil liability if the firearm is used in a crime. The current version of this bill impacts firearms with a muzzle energy of 12,000 ft-pounds, even if under .50 caliber, and possibly other firearms. Gun bans like this are based on the false, unsupportable idea that society will be safer if one particular tool is removed, which fails to recognize that someone intent on doing evil will not be stopped or deterred merely because one particular tool is not available. Don’t be fooled –today it’s the .50 cal; tomorrow it will be your handguns and shotguns – “Confiscate, confiscate, confiscate.”).
• S2485 (Suspends Second Amendment rights of U.S. citizens based on a secret government list – no due process. Ignores the presumption of innocence to which all U.S. citizens are entitled. Can be abused by government officials to ban guns to demonized classes of law abiding citizens, including military veterans and gun owners. Regulators would never abuse their power, right?)
• A3717 (Senate to concur with Assembly amendments of May 20) (Submits mental health records to NICS – no stated requirement of due process, despite repeated requests since February. This bill has gone through several different versions. What possible harm could there be in articulating due process as a condition of submission of health records to NICS?)
• S2467 / S2471 (Prohibits investment of state pension funds in companies tied to manufacturers, importers, or sellers of so-called “assault” firearms for civilian use. Committee amendments removing importers and sellers in response to hearing testimony were surreptitiously added back in on May 13 by the full Senate).
• S2804 (This is a new bill recently added to the Senate agenda. Makes possession of firearms a first degree crime for those previously convicted of serious crimes or engaged in commission of a serious crime. This bill appears to target violent criminals in possession of guns. During committee testimony, ANJRPC urged legislators to add a corollary “Aitken’s Law” provision to protect law-abiding gun owners from severe unintended consequences of NJ gun law generally, but they declined to do so).
• S1133 (This is a new bill recently added to the Senate agenda. Significantly enhances bail requirements for certain gun crimes. As originally written, carried potential for extreme unintended consequences against law-abiding gun owners. Committee amendments were added last week in response to ANJRPC testimony to preclude this possibility – enhanced bail requirements now only apply to those engaged in, or previously convicted of, serious crimes.)
• S1279 (This is a new bill recently added to the Senate agenda. Increases the penalty for unlawful transfer of a firearm to a minor from third to second degree. As originally written, carried potential for extreme unintended consequences against law-abiding gun owners. Committee amendments were added last week in response to ANJRPC testimony to ensure that temporary transfers to minors for instruction and training were exempted. Existing law would already exempt temporary transfers for target practice and competition.)
• S2801 (This is a new bill recently added to the Senate agenda. Increases the statute of limitations for theft of a firearm from 5 to 10 years).
• S2552 (Would protect private identity information of individual gun owners from public disclosure. ANJRPC supports this bill.)

The Senate vote on these bills is presently scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 30^th. Gun owners are welcome to observe the proceedings in person in the Senate Gallery (there will be no testimony), located at 125 West State Street in Trenton.

About Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs:

The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. is the official NRA State Association in New Jersey. Our mission is to implement all of the programs and activities at the state level that the NRA does at the national level. This mission includes the following: To support and defend the constitutional rights of the people to keep and bear arms. To take immediate action against any legislation at the local, state and federal level that would infringe upon these rights. Visit: www.anjrpc.org