NJ Senate Fast Tracking Bill To Imprison Gun Owners If Minors Gain Access To Firearms

Please Immediately Contact Your State Senators And Ask Them to Vote “No” or Amend to Exempt Self-Defense.

Democrats War on Guns
NJ Senate Fast Tracking Bill To Imprison Gun Owners If Minors Gain Access To Firearms
Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs
Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs

Trenton, NJ –-(Ammoland.com)- Late last night, the Senate added S516 to its full voting session this afternoon: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2014/Bills/S1000/516_T1.HTM

The legislation increases the penalties for firearms owners if a minor gains access to a loaded firearm. Currently a disorderly persons offense, S516 would increase the penalty to a third degree crime if a fatality results, and a fourth degree crime if bodily injury results. Third degree crimes carry 3-5 year prison sentences, and fourth degree crimes carry up to 18 months in prison.

S516 fails to exempt justifiable self-defense, so if a minor accesses a firearm and uses it to stop an armed intruder, the owner of the firearm will do hard time nevertheless.

So called “safe storage” laws are questionable in themselves, and have resulted in severe unintended consequences. The most notable case is the Carpenter family pitchfork murders in California in 1990. https://archive.lewrockwell.com/poe/poe1.html

A crazed madman broke into a home while both parents were away, barricaded the doors, cut the phone lines, and proceeded to brutally murder two young children with a pitch fork in front of their 3 siblings. The eldest daughter, 14 years old, was trained in using her father’s handgun and could have used it to stop the madman, but she could not access the firearm because of California’s “safe storage” law.

Firearms storage is not a simple issue and there are no effective “one size fits all” solutions. New Jersey’s existing law, like California’s, is poorly crafted, and does not allow discretion for cases like the Carpenter pitchfork murders.

In fact, if the 14-year-old daughter had used her father’s handgun to stop the crazed madman, the parents would have gone to prison under S516.

S516 was unexpectedly heard in the Senate Law & Public Safety Committee last Thursday. A request to hold the bill to discuss it, routinely granted as a courtesy, was denied as the hearing began. ANJRPC Executive Director Scott Bach testified in person, and NRA submitted written opposition: https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/anjrpc.site-ym.com/resource/resmgr/Docs/S.516.pdf

To listen to the hearing, click here: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/archive_audio2.asp?KEY=SLP&SESSION=2014 then click “listen” under “Thursday, September 18.” Consideration of the bill starts at the 2:10 mark.

The Senate has now fast-tracked the bill on less than 24 hours notice and moved it to today’s full voting session.

Please immediately email every state senator, and call and email your own state senator, and ask them to vote “no” or to amend S516 to exempt justifiable self-defense.

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

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chris

TEX on September 22, 2014 at 10:18 PM said: “The people of NJ keep voting in this trash so the blame for this bullshit is on the voters. These tyrannists are having a field day and I don’t see a damn thing changing until these liberal parasites are voted out. Why do you vote for ‘little grandma” scum like Loretta Weinberg ?” We don’t all vote for them. south jersey votes overwhelmingly conservative, even the few democrat state senators from the south consistently vote against these bills, but there is no way to compete with the ethnic liberal majority from… Read more »

james

Time for businesses to relocate outside of NJ,
too dangerous to live and too expensive with high taxes.

Shawn Grammont

New Jersey is on that absurdity again.

ray hampton

declare war on this state and change the name to the New Jersey

Echo

I echo the sentiments of TSgt B. The legislators and Governor of NJ do not respect the Constitution any more than North Korea does. Pave it.

Jim

Janek, they will not control the gangs because it is easier to make laws limiting law abiding citizens. They only care about getting re-elected and by passing laws they can say “look at what we are doing to protect you”. Until the citizens understand this, they will not be voted out of office.

Janek

Maybe they should go after the juvenile ‘gang bangers’ strolling around Trenton and Camden first!

TSgt B

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: throw New Jerkey out of the Union, declare war on it, obliterate it, and then pave and make it free parking for the Northeast.

GSpot

This is what Liberals call common sense gun laws. Why don’t we just hogtie law full gun own and say to criminals have at it, it would be a crime if a home owner could protect his/her property.

TEX

Why dont the gungrabbers want to imprison the firearms.They always talk like guns have a mind of their own ! Gun violence this,gun violence that !

TEX

Even responsible minors have a right to defense ! Guess not in that f-ed up state called NJ ! If the people of NJ continue to elect this trash,learn to live with it or move !

Eric

I was raised knowing where firearms are kept , when they could be handled, and certainly not with my friends. Why , those were part of the rules , not toys for my friends. Parents need to do a better job of raising their kids not laws.

TEX

The people of NJ keep voting in this trash so the blame for this bullshit is on the voters. These tyrannists are having a field day and I don’t see a damn thing changing until these liberal parasites are voted out. Why do you vote for ‘little grandma” scum like Loretta Weinberg ?