NJ Gun Laws Provide Interesting Case Nationally

It’s no secret that New Jersey continues to have some of the strictest gun laws in the United States. One of the chief criticisms of the Garden State’s rules pertains to out-of-state visitors bringing their firearms across the state line and how the gun is contained.

Those restrictions have been highlighted in a case against a single mother of two from Philadelphia who faces prison time for transporting her .380 Bersa Thunder handgun in her vehicle and letting an officer who had pulled her over know that she had a firearm in her car.

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Shaneen Allen was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and bullets that can penetrate protective armor.

As of August 2014, a judge in Allen’s case has refused to drop the charges and a legal defense fund has been set up for Allen.

Republican members of the New Jersey Assembly are also sponsoring a bill intended to remedy cases like Allen’s. The bill introduced in early September 2014 would give judges wider discretion in sentencing nonresidents who unknowingly bring their firearms from out of state into New Jersey.

The Press of Atlantic City reported that the bill would apply to nonresidents like Allen who don’t have criminal records and aren't affiliated with a gang.

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USA Carry’s website provides a map that shows what states allow for concealed firearms and which states reciprocate other states’ concealed carry laws. It also provides the latest changes to reciprocity among states regarding nonresidents taking firearms across state lines.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, a Republican, led a coalition of 19 states to challenge the New Jersey concealed carry laws, believing that if those laws are upheld, it would pave the way for the federal government to put restrictions on states with less-stringent gun laws.

"This decision out of New Jersey impacts the right to keep and bear arms outside of the home," Mead said in February, The Associated Press reported. "So, I felt it was necessary to have the (Wyoming) attorney general support a petition to the Supreme Court to hear this case.”

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Related Stories:

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• 19 States Join Forces to Challenge New Jersey Gun Law