Dangerous legislation under consideration – Contact your state Senator and Senate President Stephen Sweeney TODAY
This Thursday, May 30, the New Jersey Senate is scheduled to vote on multiple dangerous gun control bills. However, the state Senate has failed to use this opportunity to make easy fixes to longstanding issues that have plagued law-abiding gun owners in the Garden State. Among the fixes desperately needed are clarification of current law to prevent law-abiding gun owners from being turned into criminals over minor technical transportation violations; enforcement of the thirty-day permit issuance deadline already required by law but ignored by permitting authorities; and extension of handgun permits to one year. Anti-gun extremists in the state legislature are so bent on criminalizing law-abiding gun owners that they have halted these reasonable, common-sense proposals.
Please immediately contact state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and your state Senator. Urge them to oppose all upcoming anti-gun bills, and demand them to instead make much-needed fixes to current New Jersey gun law. Remember – every call and e-mail makes the difference!
Senate Bill 2723 – Sponsored by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-3), this bill is a compilation of multiple anti-gun bills that have been introduced this session. Among other provisions, this bill replaces existing FID cards with driver license endorsements or other forms of ID; suspends Second Amendment rights if one does not have proof of firearms training, including for all current handgun owners; imposes a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases; bans all private sales of firearms; effectively creates a registry of ammunition purchases and long gun sales.
Senate Bill 2178 – Sponsored by state Senators Raymond Lesniak (D-20) and Barbara Buono (D-18), this bill is a flat-out statewide gun ban on possession of .50 caliber firearms. These firearms are heavy, large, expensive and not misused in crimes, yet anti-gun lawmakers are still seeking to ban them. The current version was amended to make this bill effective immediately upon enactment.
Senate Bill 2485 – Sponsored by state Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-22), this bill disqualifies any person on the federal Terrorist Watchlist from obtaining a firearms identification card or a permit to purchase a handgun. This bill results in suspension of Second Amendment rights based on a secret government list – which is known to be riddled with errors without providing any right to due process.
Assembly Bill 3717 – Sponsored by Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-6), this bill requires submission of mental health records to NICS – without stated or expressed requirement of due process.
Senate Bill 2467 / Senate Bill 2471 – Sponsored by state Senator Nia H. Gill (D-34), this bill 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, which was a response to the legislators hearing testimony on this issue, were covertly added back in on May 13 by the full Senate.
A pro-gun bill is also pending in the state Senate, so remember to request that your state Senator support this important measure:
Senate Bill 2552 – Sponsored by state Senator Jeff Van Drew (D-1), SB 2552 protects individual gun owner information from public disclosure.
The Senate vote on these bills is presently scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. this Thursday, May 30. (The full Senate floor agenda can be viewed here.) 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. Time is running out, so contact your state Senator and Senate President Stephen Sweeney immediately!
Contact information for your state legislators can be found by clicking here.
SENATE PRESIDENT STEPHEN SWEENEY (D-3)
Phone: (856) 251-9801
E-mail: [email protected]