Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires newly manufactured semi-automatic handguns to be micro-stamped; establishes handgun database.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain handguns, supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, and amending N.J.S.2C:39-9 and N.J.S.2C:39-10.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. A person licensed or registered as a manufacturer, wholesale dealer of firearms, retail dealer of firearms, or an agent or employee of a manufacturer, wholesale, or retail dealer of firearms acting in the course of the person s employment shall not transport into this State, sell, expose for sale, possess with the intent of selling, assign or otherwise transfer any new semi-automatic handgun manufactured following the effective date of this act unless the semi-automatic handgun is designed and equipped with microstamping technology that imprints an alpha-numeric or geometric code on the cartridge case when the semi-automatic handgun is fired that identifies the make, model, and serial number of the handgun.
b. A person licensed as a retail dealer of firearms shall notify the Superintendent of State Police of each sale of a semi-automatic handgun designed and equipped with microstamping technology that will imprint an alpha-numeric or geometric code in accordance with this section. The information provided by the retail dealer shall include, but not be limited to the: name and address of the purchaser or assignee; date and place of the sale; and make, model, manufacturer s number, the alpha-numeric or geometric code that the semi-automatic handgun imprints, and the caliber of the semi-automatic handgun.
The superintendent shall establish and maintain a database of the information received pursuant to this subsection which shall be accessible by each law enforcement agency in this State.
2. N.J.S.2C:39-9 is amended to read as follows:
2C:39-9. Manufacture, Transport, Disposition and Defacement of Weapons and Dangerous Instruments and Appliances.
a. Machine guns. Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sells or disposes of any machine gun without being registered or licensed to do so as provided in chapter 58 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes is guilty of a crime of the third degree.
b. Sawed-off shotguns. Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sells or disposes of any sawed-off shotgun is guilty of a crime of the third degree.
c. Firearm silencers. Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sells or disposes of any firearm silencer is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
d. Weapons. Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sells or disposes of any weapon, including gravity knives, switchblade knives, ballistic knives, daggers, dirks, stilettos, billies, blackjacks, metal knuckles, sandclubs, slingshots, cesti or similar leather bands studded with metal filings, or, except as otherwise provided in subsection i. of this section, in the case of firearms if he is not licensed or registered to do so as provided in chapter 58 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree. Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sells or disposes of any weapon or other device which projects, releases or emits tear gas or other substances intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury through being vaporized or otherwise dispensed in the air, which is intended to be used for any purpose other than for authorized military or law enforcement purposes by duly authorized military or law enforcement personnel or the device is for the purpose of personal self-defense, is pocket-sized and contains not more than three-quarters of an ounce of chemical substance not ordinarily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury, or other than to be used by any person permitted to possess such weapon or device under the provisions of subsection d. of N.J.S.2C:39-5, which is intended for use by financial and other business institutions as part of an integrated security system, placed at fixed locations, for the protection of money and property, by the duly authorized personnel of those institutions, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
e. Defaced firearms. (1) Any person who defaces any firearm is guilty of a crime of the third degree. Any person who knowingly buys, receives, disposes of or conceals a defaced firearm, except an antique firearm or an antique handgun, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
(2) Any person who knowingly defaces or removes the microstamping mechanism of a semi-automatic handgun required pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) for the purpose of altering the appearance of its alpha-numeric or geometric code is guilty of a crime of the third degree. A person who purchases, buys, receives, disposes of, or conceals a semi-automatic handgun with the knowledge that the microstamping mechanism has been defaced or removed is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree
For the purposes of this paragraph, defacing or removing a microstamping mechanism shall not include replacing the firing pin of a semi-automatic handgun when the pin is damaged or in need of replacement for the safe use of the handgun or otherwise replacing the firing pin for a legitimate sporting purpose.
f. (1) Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sell, or disposes of any armor piercing ammunition, as defined in subsection gg. of N.J.S.2C:39-1, which is intended to be used for any purpose other than for authorized military or law enforcement purposes by duly authorized military or law enforcement personnel, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
(2) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent a licensed collector of ammunition as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection f. of N.J.S.2C:39-3 from transporting the bullets defined in paragraph (1) of this subsection from (a) any licensed retail or wholesale firearms dealer's place of business to the collector's dwelling, premises, or other land owned or possessed by him, or (b) to or from the collector's dwelling, premises or other land owned or possessed by him to any gun show for the purposes of display, sale, trade, or transfer between collectors, or (c) to or from the collector's dwelling, premises or other land owned or possessed by him to any rifle or pistol club organized in accordance with the rules prescribed by the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice; provided that the club has filed a copy of its charter with the superintendent of the State Police and annually submits a list of its members to the superintendent, and provided further that the ammunition being transported shall be carried not loaded in any firearm and contained in a closed and fastened case, gun box, or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported, and the course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the circumstances.
g. Assault firearms. Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sells or disposes of an assault firearm without being registered or licensed to do so pursuant to N.J.S.2C:58-1 et seq. is guilty of a crime of the third degree.
h. Large capacity ammunition magazines. Any person who manufactures, causes to be manufactured, transports, ships, sells or disposes of