NJ high court to consider Jersey City's gun control law

Monday, April 27, 2009

By MARY FUCHS

THE STAR-LEDGER

TRENTON - The state Supreme Court will tackle the always-controversial issue of gun control today when it considers whether cities and towns can enact their own laws limiting the sale of firearms.

The justices will hear arguments on Jersey City's attempt to limit handgun purchases to once per month. An appeals court last fall overturned the 2006 ordinance, saying the city had overstepped its bounds because state law already monitors those sales.

The lower court said municipal governments don't have the power "to act in the field of firearm regulation and control." New Jersey residents need a permit to buy handguns, but state law does not limit how many permits a person can request.

New York City is the only city with a handgun purchase limit - one every 90 days. That city also prohibits purchases of more than one rifle or shotgun every 90 days.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said towns and cities should be allowed to set their own laws.

Scott Bach, president of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs, which is involved in the case, said restricting purchases within a city's or state's limits will not prevent criminals from buying handguns out-of-state. He said most gang members are less likely to go through the strict permitting process that is required for legal gun purchases in the state.

"The notion that criminals and their surrogates submit to police fingerprinting and background investigations, wait six months for permits, only to turn around and sell them illegally is absurd," Bach wrote in an email.

While the Supreme Court decides a town's right to enact such a law, lawmakers in Trenton are debating its merits. A bill (A339) to limit handgun purchases to one every 30 days - with the exception of retailers and collectors - stalled in the Senate earlier this year, after passing the Assembly.

Jersey City Corporation Counsel William Matsikoudis will argue the case for Jersey City. The court has no timetable in which to respond.

The state issued more than 33,600 handgun permits in 2008, said State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones. But Jones said that is not the actual number of handguns bought last year, because permits could have expired before some could make a purchase.