by Evan F. Nappen, Esq.
New Jersey’s so-called “one gun a month” bill (Assembly Bill A3511) is based on the absurd premise that criminals buy multiple crime handguns from licensed dealers. People with criminal intentions do not purchase with permits, get fingerprinted, and subject themselves to intrusive criminal and mental health background checks.
What criminal is going to go through that process and then illegally sell registered guns in bulk?
Putting aside the stupidity of passing such a law, serious unintended consequences will occur from enacting this bill. A3511:
- Makes 12 handguns the maximum number of handguns any retail dealer can acquire in a year, from any combination of private owners, manufacturers or wholesalers.
- Turns unsuspecting law abiding citizens into criminals who buy more than one gun a month from two different sellers.
- Fails to exempt members of the U.S. Armed Forces, the National Guard, bank guards, nuclear power plant guards, security guards and movie and theater production companies.
- Protects illegal gun traffickers in New Jersey by rendering useless the federal multiple handgun sales reporting program.
A3511 states the following in its key provision:
Restriction on number of firearms person may purchase. Only one handgun shall be purchased or delivered on each permit and no more than one handgun shall be purchased in any calendar month, but this limitation shall not apply to:
- a federal, State or local law enforcement officer or agency purchasing handguns for use by officers in the actual performance of their law enforcement duties;
- a collector of handguns as curios or relics as defined in Title 18, United States Code, section 921 (a) (13) who has in his possession a valid Collector of Curios and Relics License issued by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; or
- transfers of handguns between licensed retail dealers. (Emphasis added.)
New Jersey defines “retail dealer” as:
...any person including a gunsmith, except a manufacturer or a wholesale dealer, who sells, transfers or assigns for a fee or profit any firearm or parts of firearms or ammunition which he has purchased or obtained with the intention, or for the purpose, of reselling or reassigning to persons who are reasonably understood to be the ultimate consumers, and includes any person who is engaged in the business of repairing firearms or who sells any firearm to satisfy a debt secured by the pledge of a firearm. N.J.S. 2C: 39-1.L. (Emphasis added.)
Accordingly, A3511 mandates that no retail dealer can purchase more than one handgun per month except from another retail dealer. This means that purchase of more than one handgun a month from any private owner, manufacturer or wholesaler is prohibited! Note: That’s NOT one handgun per private owner, manufacturer or wholesaler, but rather one gun from ANY combination of them in a month. In other words, a retail dealer can only buy one handgun a month, unless from another retail dealer. This means that the maximum number of handguns any retail dealer can acquire in a year is 12 handguns from ANY combination of private owners, manufacturers or wholesalers.
A3511 will also turn unsuspecting law abiding citizens (those with handgun permits) into criminals. Any licensed law abiding citizens who buy more than one gun a month from two different sellers will fall into this gun control trap. Two different gun shop purchases within a month is guaranteed to bring a State Police investigation, arrest and prosecution -- even though the buyer had handgun permits! More shockingly, violators of A3511 face 18 months in State’s Prison and having a felony conviction record.
Although A3511 exempts “federal, State or local law enforcement officer or agency purchasing handguns for use by officers in the actual performance of their law enforcement duties,” it does not exempt members of the U.S. Armed Forces, the National Guard, bank guards, nuclear power plant guards, and movie and theater production companies, just to name a some of those our legislature has not considered. Think any of these folks will care that they were forgotten?
A3511 will dramatically encourage private sales and sales to out of state retail gun dealers (specifically permitted under federal law) since New Jersey retail dealers will no longer be able to buy from the public in any great quantity. Selling one’s gun collection would require that it be done privately to multiple parties or out of state. This will, of course, make firearm tracing more difficult as private sellers are less regulated than licensed retail dealers and out-of-state sales are beyond New Jersey’s jurisdiction.
A3511 helps to protect illegal gun traffickers from detection and arrest. A little publicized, but aggressively enforced Federal Law requires licensed firearms dealers to secretly report multiple handgun sales. A3511 renders this program useless in New Jersey.
Under 18 U.S.C. 923(g)(3), sale or disposition of more than one handgun during a period of 5 consecutive business days must be reported in writing on the ATF Multiple Sale Form. It must then be sent to the ATF office, and another copy must be forwarded to the State Police or local law enforcement agency where the sale occurred. A copy of the Form also includes the firearms transaction record (ATF Form 4473), which documents the sale or disposition of the second handgun. Under this law, buyers are not told or given notice that this form is filed with two law enforcement agen
cies.
Assume for the sake of argument the ridiculous proposition that illegal traffickers are actually buying from licensed dealers in the first place (e.g., make believe you’re a legislator); Assembly Bill A3511 would kill the Federal Multiple Handgun Reporting program to identify gun illegal traffickers in New Jersey. With only “one gun a month” in place, illegal sellers will continue to rely on the black market where there is NO secret mandatory reporting to law enforcement agencies. As with New Jersey’s other ill-conceived gun-control laws, A3511 will further protect illegal gun traffickers and insure their continued success in supplying guns to the mean streets of New Jersey, while turning unsuspecting, licensed, law-abiding citizens into criminals.
