Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE

District 37 (Bergen)

SYNOPSIS

Prohibits mail order, Internet, telephone, and any other anonymous method of ammunition sale or transfer in New Jersey.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning the sale of ammunition and supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. As used in this section, "face-to-face transaction" means a sale or transfer in which the purchaser, transferee, or assignee is in the physical presence of the seller, transferor, or assigner at the time the sale or transfer is consummated. The term shall not include any transaction conducted by mail order, the Internet, telephone, or any other anonymous method of transaction in which the two parties are not in each other's physical presence.

b. All ammunition sales and transfers shall be consummated as face-to-face transactions between the seller, transferor, or assigner and the purchaser, transferee, or assignee.

c. Each person purchasing or receiving ammunition shall, at the time of sale or transfer, display a photograph-bearing valid State or federal issued driver's license or other government issued form of identification bearing a photograph.

d. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:

(1) any person licensed as a manufacturer or retail dealer pursuant to federal law or chapter 58 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes;

(2) a collector of firearms or ammunition as curios or relics who purchases, receives, acquires, or transfers ammunition which is recognized as being historical in nature or of historical significance; or

(3) a law enforcement agency or law enforcement official for law enforcement purposes.

e. With regard to the sale and transfer of handgun ammunition, the provisions of this section shall be in addition to the requirements set forth under section 1 of P.L.2007, c.318 (C.2C:58-3.3).

f. A person who violates this section shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the second month following enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill makes mail order, Internet, telephone, and any other anonymous method of ammunition sale or transfer illegal in New Jersey.

The provisions of the bill require all ammunition sales and transfers to be consummated as face-to-face transactions. The purchaser or recipient is to display a driver's license or other government issued photographic identification at the time of sale. Face-to-face transactions are defined as sales or transfers in which the purchaser, transferee, or assignee is in the physical presence of the seller, transferor, or assigner.

Under the bill, a violator would be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree, which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Federal and State licensees and dealers, law enforcement agencies and officials, and collectors, when purchasing, acquiring, or transferring ammunition which is recognized as being historical in nature or of historical significance, are exempt from the provisions of the bill.