New NJ Office Will Take Gun Industry To Court

NEW JERSEY — The state established a new office to pursue legal action against firearm companies that allegedly endanger New Jerseyans. The Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Office developed as the result of a new package of state gun laws passed earlier this month, but it comes during a period of uncertainty as to which firearm regulations will withstand legal challenges around the nation.

One of the new firearm laws — passed July 5 — allows the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General to pursue civil actions against public-nuisance violations linked to the sale or marketing of firearms. The law allows the attorney general to "bring lawsuits against gun industry members that knowingly or recklessly contribute to a public nuisance in New Jersey through unlawful or unreasonable conduct, or that fail to maintain reasonable controls, relating to their sale, manufacturing, distribution, importing, or marketing of gun-related products."

• How did your representatives vote on the legislation? Visit the bill's webpage and click "Roll Call" to see.

The new law also gave the state attorney general the authority to delegate this authority to a unit within their office. As a result, Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin concluded that establishing SAFE was an appropriate response, he said in Monday's directive.

Uncertain Period For Gun Laws

But the directive comes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a New York state law June 23 that limited people from carrying concealed handguns. The decision directly impacted New Jersey's concealed-carry regulations. But it also signified an era in which firearm advocates will likely challenge gun regulations around the nation through the courts, potentially leading to more favorable rulings from the high court's conservative majority.

"At a time when the U.S. Supreme Court is undermining states’ efforts to protect their residents from the carnage of gun violence," Platkin said in a statement, "New Jersey’s Statewide Affirmative Firearms Enforcement Office will use the new public nuisance legislation to hold the gun industry accountable. With the establishment of this office we are sending a clear message to every participant in the firearms industry: if you violate our laws, you will pay."

Carrying a concealed weapon in New Jersey still requires a permit. But the Supreme Court's ruling eliminates laws that allowed government agencies to issue concealed-carry permits only if someone demonstrates a "justifiable need."

The ruling left New Jersey to seek workarounds that could limit firearms in public spaces. A day after the Supreme Court's decision, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order that directs all state departments and agencies to review statutes, rules and regulations to determine where New Jersey can limit firearms.

The governor also said he intends to work with the State Legislature on expanding the number of places where people cannot carry guns, pitching locations such as hospitals, public transit, bars and restaurants. Read more: Murphy Wants To Ban Guns In These Places After Supreme Court Ruling

New Jersey's recently passed laws also prohibit .50 caliber rifles, increase penalties for crimes related to manufacturing and constructing ghost guns, limit the legal use of body armor to mostly law enforcement and armed services, regulate handgun-ammunition sales, require gun retailers to sell microstamping-enabled firearms, make safety training mandatory to purchase a firearm, and require out-of-state residents who relocate to New Jersey to obtain an ID card and register their weapon with law enforcement.

Pro-firearm groups, including the National Rifle Association's lobbying arm, have spoken out against the new laws and the Murphy administration's reactions to the Supreme Court's ruling.

"New Jersey politicians insist on passing more gun laws that ignore the Constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners," said the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action. "Rest assured, we will continue to oppose all infringements and vigorously challenge them."

How SAFE Will Work

The SAFE Office will work with law-enforcement partners to crack down on firearm violations. The new office draws tactics from New Jersey's efforts to keep ghost guns — unserialized and untraceable firearms — out of the state.

State law enforcement in New Jersey and Pennsylvania — along with federal authorities — have a partnership meant to focus collective resources on preventing ghost-gun kits from crossing state lines. Police around New Jersey have criminally seized 2,398 firearms, including 170 illegal ghost guns, so far this year, according to the attorney general's office.

SAFE's work will remain distinct from but supplement the AG's office's efforts to use the state’s Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) to stop out-of-state gun dealers from selling illegal firearm products into New Jersey over the internet. But the ability to pursue public-nuisance lawsuits gives the state "even more robust enforcement tools" in holding firearms manufacturers and retailers accountable for endangering New Jerseyans through the sale, manufacture, distribution or marketing of "legal, but nonetheless legal, firearms," the AG's office claims.

Platkin will approve a SAFE Office director, who will have the authority to delegate responsibilities. But the attorney general will assign employees to the office as deemed necessary, Platkin said in the directive.