Had my guns taken away in nj

This can not be in America.

Until your residency changes sufficient to satisfy an address change for a NJ drivers license or your FID card, you're unlikely to get your firearms back. From an enforcement perspective, your guns are effectively "registered" to your father's home address. Given the RO on him, it would be a PR nightmare for the state if a man with a restraining order and guns "registered" to his home, if not his person, went and victimized using those guns just because of the technicality of the guns belonging to a housemate.

TRO/ROs have always had dramatic effects and under constant pressure to reform in either direction.

Until then, document everything and have a lawyer provide letters of intent to the police outlining the awareness of your legal rights and your intent to- legally and procedurally- reclaim your property.

Odd

How can this be if the restraining order is against your father and not you and you are a grown 24 year old man? I could see this happening to you (well not really in a normal state) IF the restraining order was slapped on you. If these firearms are yours, you should have been given the chance to somehow lawfully retain possession of them, even if that meant taking them to a buddy's house.

That would make me so angry to have to hire a lawyer to get my own guns back over someone else's restraining order! I hate to pass judgement on New Jersey, because i've never been there, but it sounds so messed up the more I hear and read about it. That sounds like something that would happen in a foreign country, police confiscating lawful property without a warrant and you not doing anything wrong and no restraining order against you.....not hear in the USA....and not in Tennessee where I live.

This can not be in America.

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It's not, it's New Jersey... :banghead:

But you need a more practical observation.

The main problem here is that your Father owns the residence where you live.

When a hearing on the restraining order is held (if it hasn't been held already) you - or better yet an attorney representing you - can bring up the issue of your guns. You, or he/she may have to present evidence that the guns do belong to you, and a statement signed by your Father (and Mother if possible) to that effect may be enough. Any official documents such as registrations, bills-of-sale, etc. are better yet. As I suggested before a possible option would be a safe that your Father had no access to, and another as has been pointed out is to store the guns at an alternative site.

Another possibility would be to have an attorney file a motion with the court requesting (or maybe demanding) that the guns be returned under condition that they would be where your Father couldn't obtain them. The court would have to hold a hearing on the motion, and the State's Attorney would have to convince the court that your proposals would not meet the law's requirements. If the solution(s) proposed in the motion were acceptable the state might not even bother to challange it.

If possible and practical, moving to a new address at this time could only help your case. It would be very difficult for the state to justify holding guns that belong to you if you weren't living under the same roof as your Father.

Be careful, I believe there is a residency restriction on your Firearms Purchaser ID Card. If you move to another town, you may need to apply for a new card. I would imagine that could hold up getting your guns back also.

not hear in the USA....and not in Tennessee where I live.

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Wrong. The law under discussion is a federal law and applies in all 50 states.

RO= Nightmare for gun owners.

Yep, thats NJ . -- how long in advance did you know they where coming ??

I would have taken at least 1 handgun wrapped it in a sheet and thrown it in the backyard or something .

hope everything works out for you . but knowing NJ this will be a big problem for you ( unfortunately )

This sounds like a pretty good case for Alan Gura. Give him a call and see if he'd be interested in another pro bono 2A case.

Something as weak as a mere accusation against one party and someone else entirely loses his property? I think the Supreme Court should hear it.

In illinois stuff like this happens too. When I was going through a divorce my soon to be ex filed a order of protection out of spite. The revoked my FOID card, which prevented me from legally possesing a firearm or purchasing any ammo for one. Took me over a year to get it back. The entire time I was technically a felon for owning my legally purchased gun to use for home protection. An uncle recently went through a nasty breakup that required the cops to be called. They catalogued and confiscated over ten firearms from him that night and gave then back 48hrs later, when he provided proof he would not be going back to that house.

Before anyone calls BS on these stories, let me say, I dont care. They happened, they are fact, and I witnessed it. The cop in story two even showed us in his little book of laws where his justification was to do that.

One thing i didn't see anyone say yet (i didn't read ALL the posts though) was, talk to your mother. It may seem simple, but sometimes simple can be the right way. Prove to your mother that you have a safe place to store the guns besides the house with your father, then have her request that your guns be released.

If you and your mother are on good terms, it may be an easy and CHEAP way to try and solve this whole thing.

Maybe have your mom store them at her house?

Don't forget to get your own place.. Then it would not have happened.

Go to the police with the lawyer

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Worthless advice. The lawyer will not get them back any quicker.

First a listing is available of what is removed. It is the Property and Evidence Report. However under state law anything involving a DV cannot be released regardless of the OPRA laws as it is privileged.

Second, the firearms are not retained by the agency who removed them, nor can they return them. Only the county Prosecutor's office can approve that and that will not be done until the DV restraining order is dropped by the court. At that point the agency will recover them from the Prosecutor's Office and process the return. You can spend money for a lawyer but it will only be wasted.

As far as their removal, that was done under the order of the judge authorizing the Restraining Order. That is the only way the property can be removed. I don't have a facsimile of the Restraining Order form by the judge authorizes certain areas one of which is usually the removal of any weapons.

When the case is heard in Family court the judge MAY allow you to move them to a secure location. But don't bet on it. As far as who is the owner of the firearms, it doesn't matter. Their location is the deciding factor which is the home you both share.

Moving out of state won't change a thing. Every state has the exact same procedures with the exception of who stores the firearms. Up here in NH the same procedure is followed. In fact they are even stricter up here as they ban firearms in the home for certain parole instances.

Wow Move down here in VA we are still free last I checked.

.308, I hope it works out for you. Sorry you had to get caught up in that...Hope it works out for all of you...

Wow Move down here in VA we are still free last I checked.

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You had better review the VA law. http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/blueprints/dvguns.pdf This was valid in 2006.

Just a thought to other folks out there. When I moved back home I alwasy had my mail "Larry_Minn 12345 South Mockingbird lane. Smalltown, MN 55255 APT B" My room had a lock on the door.
My (thinking) is that it would not be the same residence on paper. Just as if you rented a room. Because the guy on the third floor apt has a RO against him does not mean the folks on 6th floor can't own a firearm.
I would guess that NJ has registration?

If I knew they were coming, I would have done more than just remove my scope, I would have moved my arms to an agreable and trusted friends home. I'm sure that there are more than a few old guys on this forum in the area that would have been more than happy to help you out as well. Just for future refrence anyhow. Make sure you have arrangements ahead of time with pro-gun friends in case of unreasonable law enforcement encroachment.

Well, since the father and son live under the same roof and the father with the restraining order would have access, I suppose the guns had to be removed from the house. I have heard that people awaiting a hearing or trial have been told by the judge to remove all guns from the house until the legal matter was resolved. For the police to take the son's guns and the son's firearms id card seems excessive, but we are dealing with New Jersey. The son should have been given the opportunity to have the guns stored safely where the father would not have access until the TRO was resolved; there are jurisdictions that would handle it that way. Sometimes a TRO is needed, sometimes it is unnecessary, and in some jurisdictions it is routine.

In light of the events over the last two days, the judge is not going to be sympathetic. Additionally, the law that comes into play is FEDERAL, not state.

That the hearing for the TRO, the victim can request that the TRO be dropped. At that point the judge can address the issue of the return. That will depend on past history. I'm guessing this is the first TRO issued at the resident? If not, the judge can set conditions.

What I find odd is that the TRO was issued at the request of your mother. did you think that someone wouldn't show up to execute it? As it is standard practice and statutory law to remove any weapons, why did you think yours would remain. They pose the same hazard regardless of the ownership. The removal certainly isn't a secret and has been the norm in almost every state. You would be wise to learn the restrictions and laws of firearm's ownership in the state. If you review the TRO forms, you will see the area covering stating the removal of firearms as per the issuing judge's order.

The only think I do find a bit off was the taking of your FID card.

Just as if you rented a room

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A lot more is involved beyond the simple changing of the address. This is a very involved subject that cannot be simplified to a few sentences.

There are plenty of stories just like this over at calguns.net, good luck .308. It's a sad world we live in where people throw around restraining orders merely to spite the other person in a divorce. I'm not saying that's the case here but i've heard plenty of stories with the exact same scenario

even call the media

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Why? The anchor would start out with

"In other news police disrupt a father son murder scheme today when the police served a restraining order on a man who was living in a arms bunker with his son..."

I guess you could have just said the police officer that took your guns was racist and make sure someone video tapes it, then you can kick back with Obama, drink a few cold ones and hash this whole thing out.

The ignorance of the law is abundant on this thread.

No laws have been violated and the officers did what they are required to do. BTW, to all you move away people, this is federal law and would go the same exact way in all 50 states.

Contrary to what some people think everything is NOT a conspiracy.

As for all the "hire a good lawyer" advice, there is no such thing. If you never want your guns back be sure to show up at the PD with a smart azz lawyer.

You are just going to have to wait this one out.