These NJ Venues Will Need Mass-Shooting Security Plans Under New Laws

NEW JERSEY — In the wake of some of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, New Jersey will require more facilities and public venues to plan for the worst. Houses of worship, movie theaters and stadiums are among the facilities that must submit emergency plans to law enforcement to prepare for mass-casualty or active-shooter events under a state law passed Monday.

New Jersey's new law will require emergency plans from sports and entertainment facilities capable of seating more than 5,000 people, movie theaters with more than 1,000 seats, and places of worship that can seat more than 500 people. The measure will take effect in mid-2023.

The bill received bipartisan support in the New Jersey Legislature, with all voting yes except for five state senators and eight lawmakers in the Assembly who didn't vote on the legislation.

The new law doesn't include schools. But state officials allocated $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan funds last August toward efforts to collect and digitize school-building blueprints and make them available for first responders. Emergency personnel in New Jersey have access to blueprints from about 1,500 of the state's 3,000 schools, so the initiative targets the remaining half that hadn't submitted blueprints to New Jersey State Police and the state Office of Homeland Security.

Two factors have motivated state Democrats to further tighten New Jersey's gun laws: the U.S. Supreme Court's June 23 ruling that overturned aspects of the state's concealed-carry regulations, along with mass shootings throughout the nation.

The nation's deadliest mass shootings of the year occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, (21 deaths plus the perpetrator) and a supermarket in Buffalo, New York (10 people killed). Yet another shooting looms in the nation's minds after three University of Virginia football players were killed Sunday, according to officials.

"As we wake up to the reality of another mass shooting in America, this time at the University of Virginia," Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday, "it is clear that we must do everything in our power to protect our communities and our residents from the senseless gun violence that plagues our country. The gun violence epidemic underscores the critical need for state, local, and community partners to work together to ensure the highest standards of public safety are being met."

Despite bipartisan support for the recent law, many updates to New Jersey's gun regulations — already among the nation's strictest — have faced pushback, slow passage and doubts that certain initiatives will withstand court battles following SCOTUS's ruling.

The Murphy administration proposed updates to New Jersey's gun laws in April 2021. But the efforts stalled in the Democrat-controlled Legislature until May 24's Uvalde shooting renewed urgency. Read more: NJ Beefs Up Gun Laws After String Of U.S. Mass Shootings

While people in New Jersey still need a permit to carry a handgun, the Supreme Court's decision on New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen overturned state laws that allowed government agencies to issue concealed-carry permits only if someone demonstrates a "justifiable need."

Days after the ruling, Murphy signed an executive order that directed all state departments and agencies to review statutes, rules and regulations to determine where New Jersey can limit firearms. The governor hoped to expand the state's gun-free zones to include locations such as hospitals, public transit, bars and restaurants, among other venues. Read more: Murphy Wants To Ban Guns In These Places After Supreme Court Ruling

Democratic lawmakers have also pushed to make New Jersey's concealed-carry laws "the toughest in the nation" with measures that would expand background checks, add requirements for obtaining a concealed-carry permit, and criminalize carrying a gun in certain areas. Staunch Republican opposition and concerns of constitutionality have slowed down the bill's path through the legislature. Read more: 'Toughest In The Nation' Gun Measure Could Tighten NJ Concealed Carry

New Jersey has the nation's strictest gun laws besides California, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The state also had the nation's third-lowest rate of firearm mortality in 2020 — the last year of complete data — according to the CDC.

But Republican lawmakers have contended that the concealed-carry bill largely targets law-abiding firearm owners and won't withstand legal challenges.

"Anyone with a law degree would look at this and say, this does not conform with the Second Amendment," said Assembly Member Victoria A. Flynn (R-13). "It’s going to be challenged, and we’re going to spend a lot of dollars defending it."