After two months, the New Jersey Senate passed the controversial Concealed Carry Restriction measure, sending it to Governor Phil Murphy for his signature.
The 21-16 bill will likely be challenged in court.
One Democrat and all Republicans opposed. Two Democrats were missing.
New Jersey Governor Murphy told TLS last month that he believed the new bill would survive legal challenges.
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“Hopefully. “I generally wouldn’t discuss bills that aren’t on our desk, but this one is vital to all of us,” he added.
Murphy added, “We are very concerned about the Supreme Court’s initial moves and then also in maintaining New York’s legislation.
“G-d willing this will be crafted in a way that will stand up because G-d knows we need it,” he continued.
Several Republican Senators opposed the bill before the vote, but the tone was more cordial than when the Assembly discussed and passed it nearly a month earlier.
An amendment allows retired police officers to renew their concealed carry licenses every two years instead of annually.
State police unions have backed the proposed bill.
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Following the US Supreme Court’s ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the measure eliminates New Jersey’s justifiable need threshold for handgun permits.
The proposed bill raises concealed carry permit fees from $2 to $25. The law raises the FPIC cost from $5 to $50.
The bill also makes it a third-degree crime to carry a firearm or a second-degree crime to possess a destructive device on state-owned property, polling booths, public gatherings, educational facilities, school buses, camps, child care centers, parks, libraries, museums, bars and restaurants, performance halls, and all health care facilities.
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All private property, including residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, institutional, and undeveloped property, will be considered sensitive areas unless the owner has given express consent or posted a sign allowing concealed handguns with valid and lawful permits to carry.