New Jersey Your Help is Needed Immediately!

A vote on the bills listed below could happen at any minute! 

The NJ Assembly is currently considering a package of bills whose stated intention is to reduce gang violence.  Several of these bills being considered contain overbroad provisions that would severely victimize honest gun owners.

 Please contact your Assemblyman or Assemblywoman immediately and urge them to vote against the following bills or add amendments to protect honest gun owners:

 1. Assembly Bill 2840 by Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-32): Raises the penalty for possession of an "assault firearm" from a third degree crime to a second degree crime, that doubles the jail time from 5 years to 10 years for violators. This virtually guarantees that judges will impose at least 7 years in State prison on any unsuspecting gun owner caught in the quagmire of NJ's Assault Firearm ban.  The stated goal of the legislation is to target gang members but the bill is overbroad and also impacts thousands of honest gun owners who lawfully possessed or inherited firearms that were later reclassified as "assault firearms" and may not be aware of the reclassification.

Assembly Bill 2840 should be amended to provide an exemption for such honest gun owners (for example, NJ Firearms ID Card holders) to make sure they are not treated like criminal gang members who use firearms in the commission of a crime.  If an amendment is not made to this bill, please ask your legislator to vote "NO."

2. Assembly Bill 2602 by Assemblyman Louis Manzo (D-31): Prohibits the possession, purchase, or sale of ammunition for anyone who does not possess a NJ firearms ID card, a permit to purchase a firearm, a NJ hunting license or who is not a law enforcement officer, among others.  Though amended to provide some exceptions, the legislation as amended could effectively prohibit persons from bringing ammunition to New Jersey shooting events and bans the ability to purchase ammunition from mail order companies such as Cheaper Than Dirt or The Sportsman's Guide.

Assembly Bill 2602 should be amended to exempt anyone who is qualified to possess a firearm under N.J.S. 2C:39-6 from this ammunition ban.  If an amendment is not made to this bill, please ask your legislator to vote "NO."

3. Assembly Bill 2599 by Assemblyman Louis Manzo (D-31): Provides for the forfeiture of motor vehicles for unlawfully possessed firearms.

Please ask your legislator to vote "NO" on Assembly Bill 2599.  This will keep the existing law in place (which requires that a firearm be used in the furtherance of an illegal activity in order to justify forfeiture, as opposed to forfeiture for mere "possession.").

The general phone number for the New Jersey General Assembly is (609) 292-4840.