downtownv
08-09-2013, 02:42 PM
Christie signs gun control laws
By Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) August 9, 2013 12:27 pm
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(File Photo)
TRENTON -- Gov. Christie signed 10 bills Thursday targeting gun violence in New Jersey, including measures requiring that certain mental-health records be submitted to the federal background-check database and increasing penalties for gun trafficking.
Christie did not take action on several other measures passed by the Legislature after the December massacre in Newtown, Conn., including a proposal to ban .50-caliber guns and another requiring that gun-permit information be encoded on driver's licenses.
The driver's license proposal, sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), would overhaul the state's system for gun purchases, requiring the creation of a database that would allow gun dealers to instantly check whether a person is qualified to buy a firearm. Gun owners also would have to complete a firearms safety course.
Those proposals have drawn opposition from gun-rights groups, including a New Hampshire organization that recently urged supporters to ask Christie to veto the bills.
"Tell him you're watching with 2016 in mind," said the group, Pro-Gun New Hampshire, referring to a possible presidential bid by Christie.
On its website, the Association of New Jersey Pistol and Rifle Clubs described the bills still awaiting action from Christie -- including one requiring law enforcement agencies to report data on unlawfully used or possessed guns -- as "horrific antigun bills" and "the worst of the bills that made it to the governor's desk."
"Please do your part and keep urging the governor to veto these bills," the group's website reads, listing phone numbers.
The bills banning .50-caliber guns and requiring permit information on driver's licenses "are still under review and consideration," said Colin Reed, a spokesman for Christie.
Christie has until Aug. 19 -- the next time the Senate meets -- to act on the bill overhauling the permit process and gun-purchase system.
There is currently no deadline for him to take action on the .50-caliber gun ban: Legislative staff said he has until the next meeting of a majority of the Assembly's members, but no session has been scheduled.
In a statement Thursday, Christie said the bills he signed were "commonsense measures" that "will both strengthen New Jersey's already tough gun laws and upgrade penalties for those who commit gun crimes and violate gun trafficking laws.
"As elected leaders, our first duty is to maintain public safety, and these new laws will help reduce gun violence and keep our streets and communities safer," Christie said in the statement.
In April, he announced a plan to combat gun violence, calling for new penalties for gun-related offenses, restrictions on violent video games, and revised laws to make it easier to mandate mental-health treatment.
The bills signed by Christie on Thursday will:
Require that certain mental-health records be sent to the national background check database.
Enhance penalties for giving a gun to an underage person, as well as for people convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm, which will be a crime of first-degree under certain circumstances.
Disqualify any person on the FBI's Terrorist Watch List from obtaining a firearms identification card or a permit to buy a gun. Christie issued a statement with that bill, noting that "some have expressed concerns with this bill based on the reliability and accuracy of background check information" provided by the FBI.
"I urge Congress to take steps to ensure that law-abiding American citizens are never swept into these databases," Christie said.
In 2011, New Jersey was ranked as the state with the second-toughest gun laws by the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence. The state already has an assault-weapons ban and a 15-round ammunition limit on magazines.
After the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Assembly lawmakers proposed decreasing the magazine limit to 10 rounds. It passed the Assembly but has not been taken up in the Senate, where Sweeney did not post the bill for a vote.
Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald (D., Camden) said in a statement that the bills signed Thursday were "a significant step" in preventing gun violence, "yet they do not go far enough in doing all we can to prevent gun-related tragedies from afflicting our families."
He urged Christie "to sign our remaining bills into law without delay," adding, "I also call on the governor to show his strong support for preventing gun violence by standing with me and the majority of New Jerseyans who support a ban on high-capacity magazines."
A coalition of activists, New Jerseyans for Safety from Gun Violence, issued a similar call to Christie.
___:32:
(c)2013 The Philadelphia Inquirer
Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.philly.com
By Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) August 9, 2013 12:27 pm
Text Size: A A A
(File Photo)
TRENTON -- Gov. Christie signed 10 bills Thursday targeting gun violence in New Jersey, including measures requiring that certain mental-health records be submitted to the federal background-check database and increasing penalties for gun trafficking.
Christie did not take action on several other measures passed by the Legislature after the December massacre in Newtown, Conn., including a proposal to ban .50-caliber guns and another requiring that gun-permit information be encoded on driver's licenses.
The driver's license proposal, sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), would overhaul the state's system for gun purchases, requiring the creation of a database that would allow gun dealers to instantly check whether a person is qualified to buy a firearm. Gun owners also would have to complete a firearms safety course.
Those proposals have drawn opposition from gun-rights groups, including a New Hampshire organization that recently urged supporters to ask Christie to veto the bills.
"Tell him you're watching with 2016 in mind," said the group, Pro-Gun New Hampshire, referring to a possible presidential bid by Christie.
On its website, the Association of New Jersey Pistol and Rifle Clubs described the bills still awaiting action from Christie -- including one requiring law enforcement agencies to report data on unlawfully used or possessed guns -- as "horrific antigun bills" and "the worst of the bills that made it to the governor's desk."
"Please do your part and keep urging the governor to veto these bills," the group's website reads, listing phone numbers.
The bills banning .50-caliber guns and requiring permit information on driver's licenses "are still under review and consideration," said Colin Reed, a spokesman for Christie.
Christie has until Aug. 19 -- the next time the Senate meets -- to act on the bill overhauling the permit process and gun-purchase system.
There is currently no deadline for him to take action on the .50-caliber gun ban: Legislative staff said he has until the next meeting of a majority of the Assembly's members, but no session has been scheduled.
In a statement Thursday, Christie said the bills he signed were "commonsense measures" that "will both strengthen New Jersey's already tough gun laws and upgrade penalties for those who commit gun crimes and violate gun trafficking laws.
"As elected leaders, our first duty is to maintain public safety, and these new laws will help reduce gun violence and keep our streets and communities safer," Christie said in the statement.
In April, he announced a plan to combat gun violence, calling for new penalties for gun-related offenses, restrictions on violent video games, and revised laws to make it easier to mandate mental-health treatment.
The bills signed by Christie on Thursday will:
Require that certain mental-health records be sent to the national background check database.
Enhance penalties for giving a gun to an underage person, as well as for people convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm, which will be a crime of first-degree under certain circumstances.
Disqualify any person on the FBI's Terrorist Watch List from obtaining a firearms identification card or a permit to buy a gun. Christie issued a statement with that bill, noting that "some have expressed concerns with this bill based on the reliability and accuracy of background check information" provided by the FBI.
"I urge Congress to take steps to ensure that law-abiding American citizens are never swept into these databases," Christie said.
In 2011, New Jersey was ranked as the state with the second-toughest gun laws by the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence. The state already has an assault-weapons ban and a 15-round ammunition limit on magazines.
After the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Assembly lawmakers proposed decreasing the magazine limit to 10 rounds. It passed the Assembly but has not been taken up in the Senate, where Sweeney did not post the bill for a vote.
Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald (D., Camden) said in a statement that the bills signed Thursday were "a significant step" in preventing gun violence, "yet they do not go far enough in doing all we can to prevent gun-related tragedies from afflicting our families."
He urged Christie "to sign our remaining bills into law without delay," adding, "I also call on the governor to show his strong support for preventing gun violence by standing with me and the majority of New Jerseyans who support a ban on high-capacity magazines."
A coalition of activists, New Jerseyans for Safety from Gun Violence, issued a similar call to Christie.
___:32:
(c)2013 The Philadelphia Inquirer
Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.philly.com