On Monday the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee favorably reported S2190 from Committee and referred the bill to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. Sponsored by State Senator Fred Madden (D-4), S2190 directs the State Police to establish a “handgun purchaser identification card” which would permit the sale, transfer and delivery of handguns between cardholders and retail dealers only.
S2190 does not eliminate the current paper form of “permit to purchase” but creates a bifurcated system run by the State Police in which paper permits must still be issued for some transactions, including private transfers, which cannot be made with the new card. The legislation has other troubling aspects, including use of an undefined, subjective standard to qualify for the new card (applicants must somehow prove themselves to be persons “of good character and good repute in the community in which they live,” a vague standard found elsewhere in NJ gun law that is in need of reform).
Senator Madden is insistent on pushing this bill with little opportunity for consultation and discussion with the National Rifle Association and the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs.
Please encourage the members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to either amend S2190 or hold it until the issues and concerns of gun owners can be properly addressed. Contact information can be found below.
Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee:
Senator Paul A. Sarlo (Chair) [email protected]
Senator Brian P. Stack (Vice-Chair) [email protected]
Senator Anthony R. Bucco [email protected]
Senator Barbara Buono [email protected]
Senator Sandra B. Cunningham [email protected]
Senator Michael J. Doherty [email protected]
Senator Linda R. Greenstein [email protected]
Senator Kevin J. O’Toole [email protected]
Senator Steven V. Oroho [email protected]
Senator Joseph Pennacchio [email protected]
Senator M. Teresa Ruiz [email protected]
Senator Jeff Van Drew [email protected]