According to Ammoland and attorney Evan Nappen, the letter of the law banned millions of rifles, shotguns, handguns, hunting rifles, target shooting firearms, military surplus guns, nearly all muzzleloader black powder guns, collectible antiques, air guns, and even BB guns.
The law is clear, and it does not list exceptions or grandfather in the collection that was handed down through your family from one generation to another.
No, if you own one of literally millions of firearms in the Garden State, you are a felon. It would be nothing to have boots at your door with a warrant for your arrest.
The sweeping 2022 law was intended to go after weapons lacking serial numbers. Lawmakers banned homemade guns, 3D printed guns, and even the files that are used to operate a 3D printer or CNC machine that could create a weapon. And, as some noted, even slingshots.
The devil is in the details, and the specifics of this draconian piece of legislation are particularly poorly written. And here’s the detail that is definitely in the New Jersey ordinance.
For a weapon to be legal in the state, it must have a serial number and that serial number must have been imprinted onto the weapon by a federally licensed firearm manufacturer.
How ridiculously broad is this shameful legislation? That Daisy Red Ryder BB gun that your kid loves to play with in the backyard is now illegal. And it hardly stops there.
In 1968, federal law began requiring guns to have serial numbers imprinted. This new statute covers all the pre-1968 rifles, shotguns, and handguns that are without serial numbers. It includes most imported rifles and military surplus weapons from around the globe.
BB guns without serial numbers are now a felony to possess, and that includes nearly all these common products as there is no federal firearm license required to manufacture them.
That antique muzzleloading/black powder weapon without a serial number, as the state includes these in its sweeping definition of a firearm, is now unlawful to possess. Like BB guns, there is not a federal firearms manufacturing license needed for manufacture.
The seemingly never-ending list includes most antique weapons, no matter how old.
As for penalties, possession is a third-degree felony that comes with a maximum of a five-year state prison sentence and a $15,000 fine. And here’s a kicker. The purchase, transport, shipping, selling, or disposing of any one of these banned firearms is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in state prison and a $150,000 fine.
It is a serious crime in New Jersey to even dispose of one of these newly illegal weapons.
So, does your antique or imported firearm have serial numbers? If so, does it come from a federally licensed manufacturer as New Jersey now requires?
Nappen concluded his excellent piece on Ammoland exposing the state’s folly with an insightful question. As this is obviously the most sweeping gun ban in American history, was it done intentionally? It certainly was not billed to the voting public as such, but the reality is undeniable.
And if not, is it simply another example of lawmakers wading into territory that they did not bother to educate themselves on? It is clear that legislators and the New Jersey governor have a poor understanding of guns in general and the Second Amendment specifically.
His conclusion? Likely a combination of both.
