I received a Colt .45 Gov. Model for my 18th birthday back in 1967 -- prior to the gun act of '68 obviously. I have lived abroad most of that time and the weapon slept in my brother's safe. Now that I have returned to NJ and got a Stae of NJ Firearms PUrchaser ID, do I need to "tell" anyone about this nice old Colt of mine? Certainly there can be no paper on it after 40 years. Perfer not to have Obama's henchmen know about it.
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NJ law re handgun -- a question
- Thread starter amram
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Tom488
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No, you do not. Registration of firearms in NJ is voluntary - not a requirement. You're covered under the same exemptions to the law as just about everyone else in the state is (the law being, possession of a handgun without a permit to carry is illegal - exemptions being, legal to possess in your home, place of business, legal to transport to/from range, etc.)Now that I have returned to NJ and got a Stae of NJ Firearms PUrchaser ID, do I need to "tell" anyone about this nice old Colt of mine?
Essentially, it's no different than someone moving in to the state with handguns - that's legal, as well - no registration requirements.
2C:39-5 and 2C:39-6 are the applicable statutes, if you'd like a little dry reading.
Tom488
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Ummm.... pretty sure, yeah...I didn't see how those statutes addressed the problem, bro. You got them right?
2C:39-5b is the general law that says possession of a handgun without a permit to carry is illegal.
2C:39-6e provides an exemption that nullifies 2C:39-5b when in your home, at your place of business, on your property, when moving from one place to another, etc.
2C:39-6f provides exemptions for transporting handguns to/from a target range.
2C:39-6g specifies the manner in which said firearms must be transported.
If you were looking for them to say "you don't have to register your firearms when you enter this state", you're not going to find it... just like you won't find the statute that says you can paint your house hot neon pink.
Only potential problem is that NJ is a state where firearms ownership is only by exception from the many, many control laws we have in place here.
As noted above the law first prohibits possession then provides various limited exceptions only.
Without documented proof that the pistol belongs to you, the police can, if they ever become involved, seize the weapon until you provide sufficient proof to their satisfaction.
As an example, on one occasion, whilst driving with a colleague from our homes to a range for target practice we were involved in small traffic ding where we were rear ended.
When the local PD arrived and they asked us where we were going we had to provide our FID's and our handguns were going to be seized and held until we could "prove" they were our property.
Being aware of the potential issues, this having happened to fellow shooters before, we both keep a photocopy of our Permits to Purchase for each handgun in the gun case. It was only after being held for another 30 minutes whilst this was "being checked" were we finally allowed to go on our way.
Whilst I understand your desire to keep the pistol "off the grid" you need to be aware of the potential issues.
If you want to go down the registration route the form link is attached below.
http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/pdf/firearms/sp-650.pdf
As noted above the law first prohibits possession then provides various limited exceptions only.
Without documented proof that the pistol belongs to you, the police can, if they ever become involved, seize the weapon until you provide sufficient proof to their satisfaction.
As an example, on one occasion, whilst driving with a colleague from our homes to a range for target practice we were involved in small traffic ding where we were rear ended.
When the local PD arrived and they asked us where we were going we had to provide our FID's and our handguns were going to be seized and held until we could "prove" they were our property.
Being aware of the potential issues, this having happened to fellow shooters before, we both keep a photocopy of our Permits to Purchase for each handgun in the gun case. It was only after being held for another 30 minutes whilst this was "being checked" were we finally allowed to go on our way.
Whilst I understand your desire to keep the pistol "off the grid" you need to be aware of the potential issues.
If you want to go down the registration route the form link is attached below.
http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/pdf/firearms/sp-650.pdf
Good Input!
Thanks for the good info and advice everyone. This board is the best! I've been asking this type of question on other boards and while the paranoia is perhaps justified in the current climate it can get nasty. I am a first time poster on a because this pistol issue just came up, but you can look me up on the 6.8 Forums where I am not an infrequent poster -- http://www.68forums.com -- as I am primarily an AR rifle builder. (I am inactive Police Reserves in Israel, as I have been here in the US for a couple of years now.)
Thanks for the good info and advice everyone. This board is the best! I've been asking this type of question on other boards and while the paranoia is perhaps justified in the current climate it can get nasty. I am a first time poster on a because this pistol issue just came up, but you can look me up on the 6.8 Forums where I am not an infrequent poster -- http://www.68forums.com -- as I am primarily an AR rifle builder. (I am inactive Police Reserves in Israel, as I have been here in the US for a couple of years now.)
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