Gov. Phil Murphy signed seven bills Tuesday that further tighten New Jersey’s already strict gun regulations and vowed to seek even more measures following recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that could loosen restrictions on firearms in America.
“These are not our last words on gun safety,” the Democratic governor said before signing the laws during a ceremony at the Metuchen Ward Hall that was packed with gun control advocates, including many wearing red Moms Demand T-shirts Action.
Under the new laws, the Garden State would require people to take firearms training to obtain a gun permit, ban .50 caliber handguns, make it easier to prosecute gun manufacturers and dealers for gun crimes in the state, provide new residents coming from other state firearms registries require micro-stamping technology, regulate handgun ammunition and deal with “ghost guns.”
Murphy said the measures were “common sense,” “smart” and “consistent with our Jersey values,” while opponents — including many Republicans — argued the measures would simply punish law-abiding gun owners and be ignored by criminals. especially because firearms coming from other countries are used in most gun crimes here.
It’s the third gun reform package Murphy and the Democratic-controlled state legislature have passed since the governor took office in 2018 in New Jersey, home to some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.
Tuesday’s event coincidentally came less than 24 hours after a gunman killed at least seven people and wounded at least 30 others at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, and after two police officers were shot during Independence Day celebrations in Philadelphia. Murphy called the former “a terrible, terrible, unspeakable tragedy.”
The governor noted that there have been more than 870 mass shootings since he proposed most of these bills 15 months ago. He also noted that during that time there were 1,271 shootings in New Jersey, resulting in 291 deaths.
“There are people who think this is all just a cost of living in the United States,” said Murphy, a Democrat considered a potential future presidential candidate. “Unfortunately, it appears that six of these misguided people are serving on the Supreme Court of the United States of America.”
Last month, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that will likely lead to more people in America being allowed to carry guns, including in New Jersey.
“We know we can tackle the epidemic of gun violence and win,” Murphy added. “We know we can enact strong and safe gun safety laws that are consistent with the Second Amendment and still protect our communities.”
State Sen. Ed Durr, R-Gloucester, countered Tuesday that none of the new restrictions “will do anything to protect New Jersey residents from tragic attacks like those in Highland Park, Uvalde and Buffalo.”
“These are empty decisions that will not stop violent criminals who will ignore every new gun law that is passed,” Durr added. All these bills will do is put more legal gun owners at risk of being prosecuted for unintentional technical violations of the law.
Murphy acknowledged that Illinois also has strict gun laws, that the Highland Park shooter purchased his firearm legally, and “skeptics may ask why they’re doing all this if it’s true.” He said he did not know whether these new laws would help prevent such a massacre. But he said the goal is to “improve our gun safety average” and that “all these steps, even if they’re small, they add up.”
This weapons package has been more difficult to push through than the previous two, thanks to opposition from some lawmakers. Murphy has repeatedly called on the Legislature to pass the measures for more than a year and has stepped up his pleas since the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Texas.
The Legislature eventually passed the bills last Wednesday, mostly along party lines, before adjourning for the summer.
New Jersey already has the second strictest gun laws in the US after California, according to the Giffords Law Center ranking. It also ranks 48th among the 50 states in the number of deaths per capita annually, according to the center. Meanwhile, about 80 percent of gun deaths in New Jersey occur with firearms that come from outside the state, according to state statistics.
Lawmakers and experts say a recent Supreme Court decision could lead to some of the state’s gun laws being challenged in court.
Last week, the Supreme Court also told federal appeals courts to review cases involving laws in California and New Jersey that limit the number of bullets a gun magazine can hold. A 2018 state law limits most New Jersey gun owners to magazines that hold up to 10 rounds instead of the 15-round limit in place since 1990. A lower court upheld the law.
Alejandro Rubian, president of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, recently said he would challenge any “unreasonable and ridiculous rules” Murphy is pushing.
Acting state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said Tuesday that these new laws will save lives and are “consistent with the Second Amendment.”
Murphy also promised more action. Last month, he announced that state leaders would work on a bill to ban guns in a wide range of “sensitive” places in New Jersey — including hospitals, public transportation, stadiums, bars and courthouses — as a precaution after the concealed carry ruling.
State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, said last week it was “possible” the Legislature could return to Trenton this summer to vote on such a measure.
In addition, two of the biggest bills Murphy has pushed for — one that would raise the age to purchase rifles and shotguns in New Jersey from 18 to 21 and one that would change how guns must be stored in the state – failed to pass through the Legislature. Nor a measure that would limit bulletproof vests here.
“Our work is not done,” Murphy said when asked by a reporter if he would continue to push for those bills.
CONNECTED: New Jersey has among the strictest gun laws in the nation. How will the Supreme Court decision change that?
The governor and legislature passed two packages of gun bills during Murphy’s first term. In April 2021, Murphy unveiled this third package. But most of the measures have stalled in the Legislature, especially after a tight November election in which Republicans won seven seats, apparently dampening Democrats’ appetite for potentially controversial legislation.
However, the national debate on gun reform has been given new life after recent mass shootings. The bills also came after weeks of state budget negotiations, a period in which leaders often make deals on controversial legislation.
State Senate President Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, said Tuesday that the new laws are not “a reactionary thing” but “a product of good governance” and legal gun owners “shouldn’t object.”
“We’ve been working on it to make sure we’re laser-focused on issues that would make a difference in New Jersey,” Scutari said.
State Sen. Joseph Cryan, D-Union, a sponsor of some of those bills, nodded to the Second Amendment in his comments.
“Somewhere in this world between 1776 and today … the rules changed,” Cryan said. “It may be a Second Amendment right, but it certainly should be a regulated right. … We have seen too many lives lost.”
Raisa Rubin-Stankevich, a Rutgers University student who co-directs March for Our Lives New Jersey, called it a rare “day of hope,” one day after Illinois witnessed “one of America’s most devastating tragedies” — a fatal shooting. on the 4th of July.
“New Jersey serves as an urgently needed model for the rest of the country,” she said.
The seven new laws do the following:
- Requiring training for people to obtain a gun buyer’s ID card in the state and to renew that card every 10 years. (A4370)
- Prohibit future sales of certain .50 caliber rifles in the state. This would not apply to antique firearms, and current owners of such guns would have to register them and pay a $50 fee. (S2905)
- Amend state public nuisance laws to prohibit the gun industry from endangering the safety or health of the public by selling, manufacturing, importing or marketing guns. (A1765)
- Requiring gun owners moving to New Jersey to obtain a Firearm Buyer’s ID and register their guns within 60 days. (S1204)
- Require state retailers to sell micro-stamped firearms after state attorney general determines they are commercially available. This is intended to help investigators trace guns to bullets and shell casings found at crime scenes, although the technology is not yet widespread. (A4368)
- Require ammunition manufacturers and dealers to keep detailed electronic records of sales and report them to state police. (A1302)
- Increasing state sanctions related to the production of “ghost weapons”. These are untraceable firearms that can be purchased online and assembled at home. (S2846)
Murphy said requiring people to take a safety course to get a gun ID is “no different” than needing a license to drive a car.
Meanwhile, Platkin, the acting attorney general, said he “looks forward to” using the expanded public nuisance law to “hold gun manufacturers and retailers accountable for the bloodshed they cause in our communities.”
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Brent Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @johnsb01.
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