BELLEVUE, Wash. — The New Jersey Assembly is poised to vote on a new gun control measure that could criminalize ownership of the very guns that secured this nation’s independence, and outlaw possession of expensive safari-class hunting rifles, according to the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).
The CCRKBA is urging Garden State gun owners to contact their state legislators about the problems with A2116, which is scheduled for a vote on Monday, November 17. According to CCRKBA Legislative Affairs Director Joe Waldron, “As with so much gun control legislation, the devil is really in the details with this bill.”
The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Reed Guscoria, would ban most firearms over .50 caliber, including original Revolutionary War muskets and replicas, popular black powder hunting rifles, expensive double-barrel African safari rifles such as the .500- and .577-caliber guns, and hunting handguns chambered for the .500 S&W.
“The legislation mentions specific features on firearms that could make owning guns with slightly different features a felony,” Waldron noted. “It is entirely possible, if this legislation were to pass, that Civil War or Revolutionary War re-enactors and black powder hunters could find themselves charged with a crime by owning musket or rifle reproductions. That may not be the intent of the supporters of this legislation, but New Jersey prosecutors and courts are infamous for nitpicking charges based on the letter of the law. Good intentions won’t keep innocent people out of court or out of jail, and they’re the building material for the road to hell.”
Waldron said CCRKBA supports efforts by New Jersey gun rights activists and the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Associations to warn gun owners about the problems lurking in the language of this measure.
New Jersey gun owners may find out who their local representative is by calling toll free: (800) 792-8630
