NSSF Testifies On One-Gun-A-Month Law In New Jersey

Trenton, NJ --(AmmoLand.com)- In testimony before the Firearms and Advisory Task Force this September, NSSF testified that the pending one-gun-a-month law, signed into law by outgoing New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, restricts law-abiding dealers from obtaining inventory.

As AmmoLand Shooting Sports News reported earlier One Gun A Months Law Ends Handgun Sales in NJ

“Retail Dealers will only be able to obtain one handgun a month from any source except another Retail Dealer (who is not likely to sell any of their dwindling inventory to another dealer.) As dealer inventories sell out, they will not be able to replace it except at the worthless pace of one gun a month. In a short time, there will be no handguns left for dealers to sell.”

In the Star Ledger last week, Task Force Chairman Robert Bernardi, Burlington County Prosecutor, addressed the need to amend the law.

“As it stands now, retailers would be prohibited from purchasing guns from their suppliers. I think that was an oversight when the legislation was passed.”

Prospects for passage of the retailer exemption legislation remain relatively strong, and NSSF will continue to push for this change.

By: AmmoLand.com

Charlie Crist better than Marco Rubio on 2nd Amendment?

Before he became House Speaker in 2006, Marco Rubio had a nice "A" rating from the NRA. But when he faces Gov. Charlie Crist in the 2010 Republican U.S. Senate primary, his rating will drop when they post grades/ratings after the spring legislative session of 2010, said NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer.

Blame the guns in the work place parking lot law that ultimately gave gun owners the right to bring their firearms to work place parking lots, provided the weapons were kept safely in vehicles. The Florida Chamber of Commerce successfully blocked the legislation one year and finally agreed to compromise language with the NRA.

Though Rubio ultimately voted for the final bill, Hammer (a.k.a., the most feared person in the Capitol) said the speaker should have done more to help the NRA.

"He voted when the gun bill was brought to the vote, but we know that what goes on behind the scenes is an entirely different story," Hammer said. She said the NRA ratings -- a big deal in the Republican primary -- are based not just on how politicians vote, but on the totality of what they do or appear to do.

"We watch everything: false claims, lips service, what a member tells other people,'' said Hammer adding that, with Rubio "it's not pretty... we take our issue very seriously."

Crist has often been in the NRA's corner. Even when he didn't know he was. Case in point: Crist's recommended budget for this year. It proposed taking $8 million from a trust fund dedicated to receiving concealed-weapon permit fees to help process CWPs. The Legislature knocked Crist's recommendation down to $6 million. Then the NRA made a stink, so Crist vetoed the trust fund sweep that he ultimately had proposed.

Hammer said that won't be held against Crist because his budget was based on staff recommendations that he wasn't fully aware of when he unveiled the spending plan. Once he learned of the implications of the trust fund sweep, Crist acted accordingly.

Crist did, however, buck the NRA when he chose Justice James Perry for the Florida Supreme Court. The NRA lobbied against him. The NRA also wanted Crist to pick Jim Smith to fill out the rest of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's term, but Crist picked his former staff/campaign chief George LeMieux.

By: Marc Caputo, Tampa Bay Online

Firearms Task Force Releases First Report

TRENTON – The Firearms Task Force created in concert with New Jersey’s so-called “one-handgun-a-month” law has issued its first report, which includes recommendations to address concerns of firearms collectors and competitive and recreational firearms users.

The task force is recommending changes that include clarifying the intent of the law with regard to multiple handgun transfers involving retail dealers, identifying a limited number of exemptions to the one handgun limitation and strengthening criminal laws to deter potential “straw purchasers” who fraudulently seek to qualify for an exemption by making false statements in the application process.

“Our task force heard from a wide range of people who brought to our attention what they felt were potential problems in the new one-handgun-a-month law,” said Sen. Fred Madden (D-Camden and Gloucester), who served as Vice Chairman on the Firearms Task Force. “The adjustments proposed in our first report address those problems and are consistent with the new law’s intent. They in no way compromise its effectiveness.”

Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Hudson) a prime sponsor of the one-handgun-a-month law and a member of the task force, said the proposed changes will ensure that New Jersey’s streets are kept safer while satisfying the needs of firearms retailers and collectors who were concerned they would be inadvertently affected by the law.

“The primary purpose of the original legislation was to deter ‘straw purchases’ of multiple handguns – purchases made by people for the purpose of selling or transferring those guns to others who otherwise could not lawfully obtain handguns,” Sen. Cunningham said. “The law remains true to that intent, but the changes the task force is proposing will make sure firearms businesses and people who have a legitimate need for an exception to the law are not adversely affected by the limitations.”

The task force’s report makes four recommendations:

• The Superintendent of State Police should be authorized to issue exemptions if the applicant demonstrates to the Superintendent that specific, special circumstances apply to the transaction. These circumstances pertain to inherited handguns, special collections and shooting competitions.

• The criminal laws regarding violations of the firearm purchase requirements should be amended to include a new offense for those who fraudulently attempt to qualify for an exemption to the one-handgun law by intentionally making materially false statements in the application process or otherwise.

• Enactment of an amendment to clarify the one-handgun limitation does not apply to otherwise lawful transactions between licensed retail dealers, registered wholesale dealers, and registered manufacturers, or to transfers of handguns from a private individual to a licensed retail dealer, a registered wholesale dealer, or a registered manufacturer.

• The one-handgun limitation should not apply to a transaction where a person purchases a handgun from a dealer and returns it to the dealer in an exchange for another handgun, all within a 30-day period.

The Firearms Task Force was created by an executive order issued by Gov. Jon S. Corzine on June 25, 2009, the day the one-handgun-a-month law was approved by the Legislature. The task force began its work July 27, 2009. The executive order directed that the initial report be submitted with 90 days of the task force’s first meeting to allow any recommended legislative changes to be enacted during the current legislative session.

In addition to Sen. Madden and Sen. Cunningham, the task force included two Assembly members, representatives of the New Jersey State Police, the Attorney General’s office, the County Prosecutor’s Association and representatives of gun owners groups and gun safety advocates.