New One Gun A Months Law Ends Handgun Sales in NJ
If you want a handgun you better buy it now!
By Evan Nappen, Esq.
June 30, 2009
“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.”
Trenton, New Jersey – -(AmmoLand.com)- Handgun sales and purchases by New Jersey Retail Dealers are going to virtually end after November 2009. This is because the New Jersey legislature hurriedly passed the so-called “One Gun a Month” bill (A339), which was known to be seriously flawed. The defective bill is absurd, as it address a non-existent problem. No self-respecting gun trafficker would obtain their handguns by first applying for New Jersey Handguns Permits, paying over $50 in fees, and insuring that any handgun he sells on the street was papered to him! Notwithstanding just how idiotic the law is, it awaits the Governor Corzine’s signature and there is no reason to believe he will veto it.
However, even the Governor felt it was necessary to issue an Executive Order creating a “Task Force” to examine the law’s impact on collectors and sportsmen. No mention was made by the Governor of examining its effect on honest citizens who want to buy a particular handgun for self-protection. Also not mentioned for study is the impact on Retail Dealers, the US Armed Forces, the National Guard, recognized military organizations, nuclear power plant security, public utilities, institutional guards, widows, banks, security agencies and private detective agencies. Is the “Task Force” just window dressing or will this poorly drafted legislation actually be “fixed”? If the law is not changed it will:
- – Kill Retail Dealer business by cutting them off from their primary suppliers of new and used handguns (wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors and individual private sellers), all of whom are NOT exempted from the legislation. Dealer inventories will eventually drop to nothing.
- – Virtually End the ability for a New Jersey resident to special order a new handgun from a Retail Dealer by cutting off Retail Dealers from purchasing more than one handgun, except from another Retail Dealer. (Unless you are the lucky “one” chosen by your Retail Dealer for that month’s one gun quota, you are S.O.L.)
- – Potentially Cripples Handgun Procurement by the US Armed Forces, the National Guard, recognized military organizations, nuclear power plant security, public utilities, institutional guards, banks, security agencies and private detective agencies, who are NOT covered by the bill’s “law enforcement” exemption.
Virtually Ends Retail Handgun Sales In NJ
A339 states:
i. 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 purchasedwithin any 30-day period, but this limitation shall not apply to:… (3) transfers of handguns between licensed retail dealers. (Emphasis added)
Special orders for particular models of handguns will be a thing of the past. Eventually, Retail Dealers will be lucky to have any inventory for sale at all. 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.
Citizens will no longer be able to sell their handguns to New Jersey Retail Dealers, unless they have the one handgun the Retail Dealer wants to buy that month. God forbid they have more than one handgun to sell! For example, a widow selling the all the deceased’s handguns in the estate to a Retail Dealer will be a thing of the past.
The Retail Dealers will be stopped cold. Forget about selling your guns to a Retail Dealer, having the Retail Dealer enter the handguns on his/her bound record books and conducting an instant background check on their future sale. As Retail Dealers turn away private sellers in droves, there will be a boom in private sales, grey market sales and black market sales as demand and prices skyrocket!
Kills The Retail Dealer Business
The law contains language exempting “transfers of handguns between licensed retail dealers.” The term “retail dealer” is defined by current law in 2C:39-1L, and essentially refers to persons engaged in the sale or repair of firearms for profit to ultimate consumers. The definition explicitly excludes “wholesale dealers,” which are defined elsewhere in 2C:39-1S (which essentially refers to persons who sell firearms to those who are not the ultimate consumers).
Because the law only exempts transfers between licensed retail dealers, the one gun per 30 days restriction still applies to transfers from all others, including wholesale dealers, manufacturers, distributors and individual sellers. Most firearms sold by Retail Dealers are obtained from wholesale dealers, distributors and manufacturers. Many Retail Dealers also buy used firearms from individuals and resell them. It is rare for a retail dealer to buy from other Retail Dealers, which is the only exempted class of transfer.
As a result, retail dealers would be cut off from their primary suppliers (wholesalers, manufacturers, distributors and individuals) and can only purchase one handgun every 30 days from these suppliers. New Jersey’s several hundred licensed retail dealers are destroyed by this law.
Cripples Handgun Procurement By Military And Security Organizations:
In two places, the law contains language exempting “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.” However, the proposed exemption for “federal law enforcement” (e.g., FBI, ATF, Secret Service, US Marshalls, etc.) falls short of covering military and security organizations, which are always identified and treated separately and distinctly from law enforcement under existing exemptions from New Jersey gun law. Recognized categories of military and security organizations that are ignored by the law include: Members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, and recognized military organizations (2C:39-6a(1), 2C:39-6a(6), and 2C:39-6c(6)); nuclear power plant security (2C:39-6a(10)); public utilities (2C:39-6c(8)); institutional guards (2C:39-6b(5)); security agencies and private detective agencies (which supply employees with firearms for their guard duties under New Jersey’s private detective law).
Because these categories were not explicitly exempted under the new law as they are elsewhere in the old law, they are not exempt and the legislation interferes with necessary procurement of handguns by these organizations.
Conclusion
It is a disgrace for the legislature to quickly pass such a absurd bill and then have the Governor support the law, while simultaneously issuing an Executive Order creating a “task force” to examine the law’s impact. The proper way to handle such a situation is called “VETO.” We are now dependant on post enactment amendments to stop this travesty. Anywhere other than New Jersey this bill would never have made it out of committee, no less be signed into law. Let’s hope we see some real “change” before the problems created by this flawed legal scheme causes irreparable harm.
Read more on this at www.evannappen.com