Posted on 02/26/2004 10:12:23 AM PST by dbwz
NJ Assembly Bill No. 1083 would amend N.J.S.2C:58-3, Purchase of Firearms, by changing the firearms inheritance procedure.
Section [j.] presently reads:
j. Firearms passing to heirs or legatees. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section concerning the transfer, receipt or acquisition of a firearm, a permit to purchase or a firearms purchaser identification card shall not be required for the passing of a firearm upon the death of an owner thereof to his heir or legatee, whether the same be by testamentary bequest or by the laws of intestacy. The person who shall so receive, or acquire said firearm shall, however, be subject to all other provisions of this chapter. If the heir or legatee of such firearm does not qualify to possess or carry it, he may retain ownership of the firearm for the purpose of sale for a period not exceeding 180 days, or for such further limited period as may be approved by the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the heir or legatee resides or the superintendent, provided that such firearm is in the custody of the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality or the superintendent during such period.
In the new version, [j.] would be deleted, and replaced with this new section:
2. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter concerning the transfer, receipt or acquisition of a firearm, a permit to purchase a handgun or a firearms purchaser identification card shall not be required for the passing of a firearm upon the death of an owner to an heir or legatee by testamentary bequest or by the laws of intestacy. However, a person who receives or acquires a firearm as an heir or legatee and does not hold a valid handgun purchase permit or firearms purchaser identification card shall submit to a criminal history record background check prior to taking possession of the firearm. The person shall initiate the criminal history record background check by submitting a written request to the chief law enforcement officer, if there is one, of the municipality in which the person resides, or the superintendent in all other cases. The request shall contain the same information as is required in subsection e. of N.J.S.2C:58-3 for a handgun purchase permit or firearms purchaser identification card, except that the names and addresses of two references shall not be required. For the purpose of complying with this section, a person shall waive any statutory or other right of confidentiality relating to institutional confinement.b. If an heir or legatee possesses a valid handgun purchase permit or firearms purchaser identification card, he may take possession of the firearm if a signed certification containing the name, address and identification card number of the person and indicating that the person currently complies with the requirements in subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:58-3 is filed with the chief law enforcement officer, if there is one, of the municipality in which the person resides, or the superintendent in all other cases. The certification shall be on a form prescribed by the superintendent and shall be filed before the person takes possession of the firearm.
c. The superintendent shall prescribe the forms which are to be used for requests pursuant to subsection a. of this section for criminal history record background checks, and the forms may be obtained from the superintendent or from any municipal law enforcement department. The fee for a background check shall be established by the superintendent. The fee shall be forwarded to the municipality if paid to the chief law enforcement officer, or to the State Treasury if paid to the superintendent. The person requesting the background check also shall be required to pay the fee charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation if a check of the FBI records is required.
d. A person shall provide, along with the request for the criminal history record background check pursuant to subsection a. of this section, a copy of his fingerprints. The chief law enforcement officer or superintendent shall have the fingerprints compared with any records of fingerprints in the municipality and county in which the person resides and with any records of the State Bureau of Identification and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If the person had previously obtained from the same authority a handgun purchase permit for which he was fingerprinted and provides reasonably satisfactory proof of identity, another set of fingerprints shall not be required; however, the chief law enforcement officer or superintendent shall investigate the request to determine if the person has become subject to any of the disabilities in subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:58-3.
e. A person who is not subject to any of the disabilities in subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:58-3 shall not be denied the right to own the firearm. There shall be no conditions or requirements imposed for the possession of the firearm other than those that are specifically set forth in this section.
f. Any person aggrieved by a denial following a criminal history record background check conducted pursuant to this section may request a hearing in the Superior Court in the county in which he resides, if a resident of New Jersey, or in the Superior Court of the county in which the request for a criminal history record background check was submitted. The request for a hearing shall be made in writing within 30 days of the denial. The person shall serve a copy of the request for a hearing upon the chief law enforcement officer or the superintendent. The hearing shall be held and a record made within 30 days of the receipt of the request by the court. No formal pleading and no filing fee shall be required as a preliminary to such a hearing. Appeals from the results of such a hearing shall be in accordance with the law.
g. Upon the death of an owner of a firearm, the administrator or executor of the estate shall turn over custody of the firearm to the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the decedent resided. The chief law enforcement officer shall retain custody of the firearm until the heir or legatee demonstrates that he is qualified to possess the firearm either by producing a valid handgun purchase permit or firearms identification card or by passing a criminal history record background check pursuant to this section. If the heir or legatee is found to be unqualified to possess a firearm, the firearm shall be sold by the heir or legatee. The chief law enforcement officer or the superintendent shall retain custody of the firearm for a period not exceeding 180 days, or for such further limited period as may be approved by the chief law enforcement officer or the superintendent, during which a sale of the firearm shall be completed.
STATEMENT
This bill is intended to close a loophole in the State's gun laws. It establishes a procedure to insure that persons who inherit firearms are qualified to possess them under the laws of this State. The bill requires an heir or legatee, who does not hold a valid firearms purchaser identification card, to submit to a criminal history background check and to demonstrate that he meets the other statutory conditions to obtain a firearm. These include physical and mental fitness, freedom from drug or alcohol dependence, having no outstanding restraining order for domestic violence and being 18 years of age or older.
Currently, those who inherit firearms are subject to the laws governing firearms possession. However, there is no requirement that this inheritance be reported to a law enforcement officer and no mechanism to ensure compliance.
Under this bill, the executor of the estate of a firearms owner would be required to turn over custody of the firearm to the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the decedent resided. The chief law enforcement officer would retain custody of the firearm until the heir demonstrated that he is qualified to possess a firearm either by producing a valid handgun purchase permit or firearms identification card or by passing the required criminal history background check.
If the heir is unqualified to possess a firearm, he would be required to sell the firearm, which would remain in the custody of the chief law enforcement officer until sold.
Namely, the private inheritance loophole. Inheritances become public, registered and documented.
Then you can see why the law has to be tightened up. Lacking ammo, you could have turned the weapon around and beat someone over the head with it.
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