New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed seven new bills into law, including legislation allowing the state Attorney General to pursue lawsuits against the firearm industry.
According to Fox29 in Philadelphia, Murphy signed the bills into law on Tuesday. Murphy took to Twitter to summarize what the seven laws will do:
- Allows Attorney General to bring cause of action for certain public nuisance violations arising from sale or marketing of firearms
- Requires firearm owners who become New Jersey residents to obtain firearm purchaser identification card and register handguns acquired out-of-state
- Upgrades certain crimes related to manufacturing firearms from third degree to second degree
- Revises definition of destructive device to include certain .50 caliber rifles (effectively banning .50 caliber firearms)
- Regulates sale of handgun ammunition and develops system of electronic reporting of handgun ammunition sales
- Requires training for issuance of firearms purchaser identification card and permit to purchase handgun under certain circumstances; provides that firearms purchaser identification card include photograph and thumb print and remain valid for ten years
- Requires firearm retailers to sell microstamping-enabled firearms upon determination of availability by Attorney General
The seven bills I signed into law today are a huge step forward for commonsense gun safety.
But this will not be our only or our last step. We will continue to take action to make New Jersey safer for all. pic.twitter.com/QtWuq3rbOI
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) July 5, 2022
“They are common sense, they are smart, they live up to our Jersey values,” Murphy told the crowd who gathered at the Metuchen’s municipal building for the signing ceremony.
Murphy also said more needs to be done after a recent Supreme Court ruling (NYSRPA v. Bruen.) striking down a requirement for permit holders to show a specific need to carry firearms.
“The constitutional right to bear arms in public for self-defense is not ‘a second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees,’” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the majority opinion. “We know of no other constitutional right that an individual may exercise only after demonstrating to government officers some special need.”
“The government must affirmatively prove that its firearm regulation is part of the historical tradition that delimits the outer bounds of the right to keep and bear arms,” Thomas continued.
In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, it is certain that laws, like the ones enacted in New Jersey seeking to limit the rights of gun ownership will be challenged in the courts.
is a U.S. Navy veteran, and a former prosecutor and defense attorney with over 20 years of experience in state and federal courts. He has handled everything from traffic tickets to first-degree murder cases and is a long-time supporter of Second Amendment rights and the rights of individuals to defend themselves, their families and their property.
