Murphy Seeks To Expand NJ Firearm Carry Ban: Here’s Where

NEW JERSEY - Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Friday directing all state agencies and departments to identify where firearms may be carried, regulated and prohibited in the Garden State, a move directly following the U.S. Supreme Court's Thursday decision to ease public firearm carrying rules.

Murphy also announced his plans to immediately begin working with state lawmakers to expand the number of areas where firearms can’t be carried, including locations with a high density of people, locations with “inherently vulnerable populations” and buildings where “important governmental or First Amendment-protected activities take place.”

Among the areas that should be protected are sports stadiums, public transit, police stations, polling places, courthouses, restaurants, childcare centers, hospitals and bars, Murphy said at a news conference on Friday. Private property owners, including homeowners and business owners, should also be required to give permission for an individual to carry a firearm on a property, Murphy added.

“Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision, in addition to making a mockery of the recent tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo, severely undermines the efforts of individual states to protect their residents from gun violence,” said Murphy in a statement. “But the failures of the nation’s highest court to combat this devastating public health crisis will not deter us from realizing our vision for a safer New Jersey. Now more than ever, the onus is on us to pass common sense gun safety reform that will benefit every child, parent, and first responder who calls New Jersey their home.”

New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan also expressed that the state police already anticipate a “dramatic” increase - as many as 200,000 - in the number of carry applications.

“Although New Jersey has consistently experienced one of the lowest firearm mortality rates in the nation, even one senseless death due to gun violence is too many,” Callahan said in a statement. “Our priority remains keeping the citizens of this state safe, and we will continue to work with the Governor’s Office, the Office of Attorney General, and our law enforcement partners to take preventative measures to ensure that firearms do not fall into the wrong hands.”

On the federal level, President Joe Biden signed one of the most comprehensive gun reform bills in decades on Saturday. Dubbed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the law will toughen background checks for young gun buyers, hinder domestic violence offenders from obtaining firearms and aid states in implementing “red flag” laws to make it easier for authorities to confiscate weapons from individuals deemed to be dangerous. The law also seeks to boost mental health programs in schools.

"Today, we say more than enough. We say more than enough," Biden said. "At a time when it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, we are doing something consequential."