NJ handgun ownership?

[IMTHDUKE]

I need some info concerning NJ handgun ownership. My son live in NJ and I want to give him a handgun. I am not sure if you can even legally own a handgun in NJ or if you can what and how long the process takes.

Any NJ residents who have handguns that could give me information on this? Thanks so much.

[Willie Sutton]

You can bring a handgun into NJ if you were a legal owner in another state and move into NJ bringing it with you, without registration. That does not seem to be the case here though.

For your son to have it transferred from a FFL to himself, which will be what you need to do (no personal sales or transfers across state lines, as per federal law), he needs to take two steps:

(1): Apply for a receive a NJ State Firearms Identification Card (FID). This process is fairly simple to do, but takes "as long as the local police chief says it's takes". Basically it's a form, a mental health records release, and a fingerprint card. hand it over with the proper fee and wait 4-40 weeks. Generally these take about 2-3 months to get. They are good for life and allow two things: Purchase and Posession of long-arms, and are a prerequiste for applying for a Purchase Permit for a Handgun.

(2): For the handgun purchase permit, he basically fills out an identical set of paperwork, waits the same length of time, and (finally) gets a form that allows the purchase of ONE handgun in the next 90 days. Use it or lose it. This is then taken to the FFL (or private party) and a transfer can be concluded.

When he applies for the FID he can also apply for his first handgun permit, and both will be issued at the same time when they are done.

He needs in the meanwhile to have made arrangements for a FFL dealer to accept the gun from you, and to then do the transfer to your son. Most dealers do this for about $50 in NJ. You will likely need to have a FFL in your state send it to the NJ dealer: although this is not legally required, many FFL's will not accept an incoming firearm from an individual, and this is their right.



Notes:

Handguns are rationed one every 30 days in NJ.

Transportation requirements are VERY strict in NJ. He really does need to study the laws there.

MANY folks who grew up in firearms-friendly places have no "guilty concience" regarding guns, and do not "code-shift" when in NJ. What might be common elesewhere as a every day part of life (like leaving a half shot box of .22 hollowpoints in your glovebox after a day of rabbit hunting) can be a felony in NJ. If he's from your fine state, he will need to REALLY pay attention to his new legal environment.

I lived there as a firearms enthusaist for over 40 years, and it was always a burden. Gone now.



Willie


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[IMTHDUKE]

WOW................Is there a requirement to sell your first born also:confused:

This is more complicated than I thought. Of course, I am basing that on Alabama gun laws, which are as easy as pie.

[Willie Sutton]

Yup. Getting a FID there is a rite of passage for many of us. I got my fingerprint card done on my 18th birthday. Just part of life.

Now if you had happened to have given it to him in Alabama when he was an Alabama resident, he can have it at home in his new state (NJ) but he ought not take it out of the house *ever*. If he gets a FID he could then take it to the range, etc.

It is a hassle... no doubt.


Willie


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[IMTHDUKE]

Willie, thanks......yes, I will give it to him in Alabama where he resides and he will take it to NJ. He only want to keep it as a house gun.

[Aguila Blanca]

Willie, thanks......yes, I will give it to him in Alabama where he resides and he will take it to NJ. He only want to keep it as a house gun.
I think you misunderstood something. I do not think Willie Sutton intended to advise you on how to violate both Federal and state law. He said you could have given a handgun to your son while he lived in Alabama, and he could then have brought it with him to New Jersey.

In your opening post, you wrote:

I need some info concerning NJ handgun ownership. My son live in NJ and I want to give him a handgun. I am not sure if you can even legally own a handgun in NJ or if you can what and how long the process takes.
If your son lives in New Jersey, your son does not live in Alabama. We don't play word games on this site -- the laws may not be fair, reasonable, or logical, but the rules of this site do not encompass encouraging the violation of any laws.

[IMTHDUKE]

Not playing any word games. My mistake....he is presently in the process of moving to NJ. I was thinking in advance....he is still a resident of Alabama for a few days. I see what I need to do.

[Willie Sutton]

White Eagle and I are both giving the same advice: Stick to the legal way of doing things. If he has a Alabama Drivers License and not a NJ one, and if he has his habitual residence in Alabama and not in NJ, and "fill in the blanks" and is an Alabama resident today, he's an Alabama resident and not a NJ one, even if he intends to move there in the near future. But if he's exchanged his DL, has a job, signed a lease for a house in NJ, etc... he's a NJ resident.

Just make sure you do the right thing. If he plans to reside in NJ he would be very smart to get a NJ FID card as well, even if he just keeps it as a house gun. Just ends any discussions later if he ever needed to use it for home defense, etc. Why give the authorities there any extra reasons to cause a hassle?


Willie


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