Enclosed please find a fact sheet from Mayors Against Illegal Guns that compares current New Jersey law to the bipartisan Toomey-Manchin Amendment. Current New Jersey law is stronger than the Toomey-Manchin Amendment as it applies to handgun sales, and therefore the Attorney General may exempt the state from the bill's background check requirements for handgun sales. For long gun sales, Toomey-Manchin is stronger than New Jersey law-and the bill will require checks for those sales in commercial settings.
Mark Glaze
Director
Mayors Against Illegal Guns
Contact: Erika Soto Lamb:esotolamb@rabengroup.comor646-580-5281
THE Toomey-Manchin Amendment Compared to Current New Jersey Law
- Bottom line:Current New Jersey law is stronger than the Toomey-Manchin Amendment as it applies to handgun sales, and therefore the Attorney General may exempt the state from the bill's background check requirements for handgun sales. For long gun sales, Toomey-Manchin is stronger than New Jersey law-and the bill will require checks for those sales in commercial settings.
- Handgun sales: New Jersey law requires that a handgun purchase permit issued after a background check and during the previous three to six months be presented for all handgun sales, including from private sellers.[1] Therefore New Jersey law requires a background check for all handgun sales and covers more sales than the Toomey-Manchin Amendment, which only requires checks for private sales in commercial settings.
- New Jersey handgun sales may be exempted: Because New Jersey currently requires background checks before issuing handgun purchase permits, the state may be exempted by the Attorney General from the bill's background checks requirements for handgun sales.
- Long gun sales: New Jersey law currently does not require background checks for private-party long gun sales. By comparison, Toomey-Manchin will require checks for all long gun sales conducted in commercial settings.
- Private sellers of long guns in commercial settings would have to complete their sales through licensed dealers. Dealers will use the same background check system already used for dealer sales-and will keep records in the same manner as they have for more than 40 years. The FBI will still be required to destroy all evidence of successful background checks within 24 hours, and federal law will continue to prohibit the creation of a federal gun registry.
- Submission of mental health records: Toomey-Manchin will encourage states to submit mental health records for prohibited people to the gun background check database. New Jersey has not had a strong history of submitting mental health records to NICS,[2] but has recently received grants to improve its system. Toomey-Manchin will provide extra aid to states to help them submit this data.
- Strengthening Second Amendment protections: Toomey-Manchin will make the law more convenient for New Jersey gun owners and dealers in the following ways:
- Helping active military personnel stationed in New Jersey by clarifying that they can buy guns in-state
- Clarifying how New Jersey gun owners can legally travel across state lines with their guns
- Permitting New Jersey dealers to sell handguns to residents from other states
- Allowing New Jersey dealers to conduct background checks on employees who handle guns
- Providing immunity from civil lawsuit for private sellers who conduct background checks
- Effect of current federal law in New Jersey: While New Jersey requires background checks for all private sales, 35 states currently do not require checks even for private handgun sales. This means that prohibited purchasers can buy handguns legally in those states without facing a background check-and then bring them to New Jersey. Toomey-Manchin would minimize this out-of-state loophole, making it illegal for anyone in the country to buy handguns in commercial settings without first passing a background check.
- Convenience for New Jersey residents: An estimated 99.9% of New Jerseyans live within 10 miles of a gun dealer. There are 298 licensed dealers in New Jersey, more than the number of McDonald's locations.[3]
- New Jersey polling data: A February 2013 poll conducted by Douglas E. Schoen LLC found that 95 percent of NJ-2, 89 percent of NJ-3, 100 percent of NJ-4, 91 percent of NJ-5, 92 percent of NJ-7, and 97 percent of NJ-11 voters supported universal background checks. Details are available here: http://www.demandaction.org/polls
[1] N.J. Stat. Ann.Section 2C:58-3
[2] http://www.demandaction.org/fatalgaps
[3] http://www.demandaction.org/dealers
/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- April 12, 2013/
SOURCE Mayors Against Illegal Guns
