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$5000 Reward If You Can Prove NJ Church’s Gun “Buybacks” Are Legal

$5000 Reward If You Can Prove NJ Church's Gun "Buybacks" Are Legal

AmmoLand Gun News

Eatontown, NJ --(Ammoland.com)- Evan F. Nappen, Attorney at Law and author of the “NEW JERSEY GUN LAW GUIDE” (www.evanappen.com) is offering a $5000* reward to the first person who can show to Attorney Nappen’s satisfaction the specific New Jersey gun law statutes (N.J.S. 2C:39-1 through 2C:39-16 or N.J.S. 2C:58-1 through N.J.S. 58-19) which authorizes the Plainfield churches to act as “collection sites” in which persons are paid up to $200 in cash with “no-questions- asked” for any type of gun from handguns to “assault firearms” and said guns are then destroyed without further investigation.

(For more information on this “buyback” see the following article: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20110803/NJNEWS/308030028/Plainfield-religious-leaders-police-gearing-up-gun-buyback-program )

Attorney Nappen knows of no New Jersey gun law statute allowing:

1. the anonymous surrender of firearms;
2. the receipt of surrendered firearms by churches;
3. the unlicensed transport of guns to churches; and
4. the destruction without investigation of guns (which may be potential criminal evidence or stolen property that should be returned to their rightful owners.

He would very much like to include such laws his next edition of the “NEW JERSEY GUN LAW GUIDE”.

New Jersey law provides for the voluntary surrender of firearms only when the person giving up the firearms first gives written notice to the chief of police where he resides or the state police superintendent. Anonymous surrender is simply not authorized. The same law authorizes only the local police chief or the state police superintendent to receive surrendered guns. A church is not authorized under the statute to receive surrendered firearms. (See N.J.S. 2C:39-12.) Also, there is no transportation exemption for such a surrender scheme or bringing unlicensed guns to church. (See N.J.S. 2C:39-6.)

The immunity granted under New Jersey’s voluntary surrender law is limited to unlawful possession only and nothing more. By allowing for anonymous “no-questions-asked” surrender, the buyback program effectively creates de facto immunity far beyond this.

The purchase of firearms in New Jersey is strictly prohibited except for licensed dealers and individuals with a Handgun Purchase Permit or Firearms Purchaser ID Card. All gun sales are recorded and include the name and address of the buyer and seller. A church is not authorized under the statute to purchase firearms, no less from anonymous sellers. The payment of cash for a firearms purchase by anyone other than a licensed dealer or a permit/FID cardholder is not permitted. (See N.J.S. 2C:58-3(a) and (b).)

*Notice: The Reward offer expires on November 5, 2011.

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Unlawful Martinsville Virginia Municipal Building Gun Ban

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Covington VA --(Ammoland.com)- I have just fired off the letter below to the Martinsville City Council on an illegal gun ban that covers Martinsville’s entire municipal building.

They are using the guise that just because a few rooms in the building are courtrooms, that makes the whole building a courthouse.

Not so. VCDL wants the policy changed to only ban guns in rooms used by the Court.

If you live in the Martinsville area, VCDL is going to be on the Martinsville City Council’s agenda for Tuesday, August 23rd, at 7:30 PM to address this issue. The more gun owners we have at that meeting to show support for VCDL’s position, the better. I will send a reminder as the date draws near.

Here is the email to City Council:

Dear Martinsville City Council, City Council Clerk, and City Attorney,

As the President of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights organization with 5,000 members and another 15,000 email alert subscribers, an issue has been brought to my attention dealing with a gun ban that covers Martinsville’s entire municipal building.

The sign on the door of the Municipal Building says in part, “Attention Court Participants. The following are prohibited in the COURTROOM of the Juvenile Domestic Relations of the City of Martinsville…It is unlawful to carry any weapon of any kind into the COURTROOM including a pocket knife…” (emphasis on “courtroom” is mine).

We have no issues with the sign or its wording. As written it is correct. HOWEVER, how the City is implementing that gun ban (applying it to the entire Municipal Building) is not legal for 2 reasons:

1. Just because a building has a few courtrooms in it does not make the entire building a courthouse. The Courts have already ruled so: “Only that part of the courthouse building necessary for the use and occupancy of the circuit court constituted the courthouse . . . .” Bd. of Supervisors v. Com. of Accounts, 215 Va. 722, 724, 214 S.E.2d 137, ___ (1975)

2. Except for the rooms used by the Court, the City is preempted from banning firearms in the rest of the building by Virginia Code 15.2-915 in part:

Ҥ 15.2-915. Control of firearms; applicability to authorities and local governmental agencies.

A. No locality shall adopt or enforce any ordinance, resolution or motion, as permitted by § 15.2-1425, and no agent of such locality shall take any administrative action, governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, storage or transporting of firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof other than those expressly authorized by statute. For purposes of this section, a statute that does not refer to firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof, shall not be construed to provide express authorization.

…

C. In addition to any other relief provided, the court may award reasonable attorney fees, expenses, and court costs to any person, group, or entity that prevails in an action challenging (i) an ordinance, resolution, or motion as being in conflict with this section or (ii) an administrative action taken in bad faith as being in conflict with this section.”

Please conform the Municipal Building ban on the otherwise lawful carry of firearms to comply with state law as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Philip Van Cleave
President
Virginia Citizens Defense League

About:
Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right. Visit: www.vcdl.org

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