Gov. Murphy Wants To Ban Guns In These Places After Supreme Court Ruling

NEW JERSEY — In light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturns certain limitations on carrying concealed handguns, Gov. Phil Murphy's administration began efforts on a workaround. The governor wants to expand New Jersey's gun-free zones to include locations such as hospitals, public transit, bars and restaurants.

Murphy signed an executive order Friday that directs all state departments and agencies to review statutes, rules and regulations to determine where New Jersey can limit firearms. The governor also intends to work with the state Legislature on expanding the number of places where people cannot carry guns.

Places up for consideration include the following, according to Murphy:

• High-density locations, including stadiums and arenas, amusement parks, bars and restaurants where alcohol is served and public transit.
• Places with "inherently vulnerable populations," such as day care and child care facilities, hospitals and other health care centers, long-term care facilities and nursing homes.
• Locations of First Amendment-protected activities, such as anywhere governmental bodies may meet, polling places, courthouses and police stations and places where demonstrations, protests or licensed gatherings may occur.

The administration's plan came in response to Thursday's Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen. The high court struck down a New York state law requiring people to demonstrate a particular need to get a permit for carrying a handgun in public. Read more: Supreme Court's Gun Law Ruling 'Undermines' NJ's Safety: AG

The decision eliminates a similar requirement in New Jersey law in which someone must show a "justifiable need" to carry a handgun. The rest of the process for obtaining a carry permit, including a background check, still stands.

The court's ruling allows New Jersey to continue prohibiting firearms in schools and government buildings.

"A right to carry a concealed weapon is, in actuality, a recipe for tragedy," Murphy said. "Moreover, it is not in line with our long-standing New Jersey values — values which have always supported the 2nd Amendment through carefully crafted and equally as carefully enforced laws to ensure that guns do not needlessly proliferate in our communities."

New Jersey has the nation's strictest gun laws besides California, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The state has the third-lowest gun-death rate in the nation. But recent mass shootings intensified calls from Murphy to pass gun control measures his administration proposed in April 2021. The Supreme Court's ruling adds another wrinkle for the Murphy administration, which has long proposed tightening the state's firearm laws.

Expanding gun-free zones would require action from the state Legislature, which has stalled on recent firearm proposals from the Murphy administration but may have reached a breakthrough. Committees in the state Senate and Assembly endorsed several bills that largely mirror the gun-control package the administration proposed more than a year ago.

Measures included prohibiting .50-caliber rifles, increasing penalties for ghost guns, banning almost all use of body armor, requiring micro stamping, imposing firearms training, regulating the sale of handgun ammunition and requiring new residents to register firearms from other states.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee also advanced legislation that would raise the minimum age for purchasing shotguns and rifles from 18 to 21 — another proposal from the Murphy administration.

It remains to be seen whether any of the bills have enough support to survive full votes from the state Senate or Assembly. Democrats have held majorities in both chambers since the Murphy administration proposed the gun control measures, but it took more than a year for them to get support from legislative committees.

Republican lawmakers have vocally opposed Murphy's proposals, saying they target law-abiding gun owners instead of criminals. GOP leadership also views the Supreme Court's ruling as an opportunity to change the landscape for New Jersey's gun policies.

"I believe today will go down as a victory for freedom and that many generations of Americans to come will look upon today as a beacon in defense of liberty," Senate Republican Leader Steven Oroho said of the Supreme Court's ruling. "Now we have to look towards New Jersey government to do what is right and end their decades-old infringement on New Jersey freedoms."