Gun control: N.J. Legislature closer to approving 'red flag,' other measures after debate

So-called “red flag" laws that allow police to temporarily take guns from people deemed by a judge to pose a threat have drawn renewed attention after a deadly shooting at a Florida high school last month, and New Jersey could be one of the states to adopt such a measure.

An Assembly committee approved legislation Wednesday authorizing judges to issue “gun violence restraining orders” along with five other bills that would impose a 10-round limit on the capacity of gun magazines, expand background checks to include private gun sales and ban bullets capable of penetrating body armor.

Another bill, A-1016, to create a market for so-called “smart guns” was held by the committee but is expected to be considered again in the coming weeks.

New Jersey already has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, but Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has vowed to tighten them further by signing every piece of gun legislation that Republican former Gov. Chris Christie vetoed during his eight years in office.

Murphy has willing allies among the Democrats who control the Legislature and who feel renewed urgency to act following the Florida shooting, which left 17 people dead.

The governor said he supported the measures approved Wednesday but stopped short of saying he would sign them.

"Conceptually, all of them are in the direction we want to go," Murphy said during an impromptu visit to the State House's press offices.

Marathon hearing

Annette Quijano, a Union County Democrat and chairwoman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, opened Wednesday's hearing by reading a list of what she said were 18 shootings that have happened on school grounds in America since the beginning of the year — a figure that has been disputed.

"The federal government has shown itself unable to address this public crisis, so we must do everything we can under New Jersey state law," she said. "This is not a reaction to the recent murders. It's a reaction to the murders that could have been avoided and still can."

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Testimony continued for five and a half hours and featured alternating panels of people in favor and opposed to the legislation. Among those who railed against the measures was Ismael Abbasi, 29, of Hackensack, who said his sister was a victim of an assault and "sleeps better because she has a firearm next to her" with a magazine capacity of more than 10 rounds.

"Are you willing to criminalize these women that have these firearms next to them and feel better because they have the ability to defend themselves?" he said.

"Yes, I do need armor-piercing ammunition. And, yes, I do need more than 15 rounds or 10 rounds or whatever the law is," added P.J. Chesson, 39, a former race car driver and Hunterdon County resident who said he fears "tyrannical government." "I need that because I don't know what the face of the enemy is."

The Rev. Robert Moore of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action was on the other side of the debate and responded to arguments made by President Donald Trump and others that arming more people would make schools and other public venues safer.

"The notion that by giving more people guns and sending them into crowded situations, whether they're schools or whatever, is totally a mistaken notion and makes no common sense," he said.

"The right to own a gun should not trump the right to live," added Tracy Keegan, a Summit resident who said she had previously been threatened by a mentally ill stranger with a gun. "Enacting common sense gun legislation isn't going to ruin anyone's life or kill anyone, but not enacting it might."

The Democratic agenda

At least five states already have "red flag" laws on the books, and Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, said Wednesday such a law would have had "great application" to what happened in Florida, where authorities had frequent interactions with the suspected school shooter, Nikolas Cruz, but never confiscated his guns.

The bill McKeon is sponsoring, A-1217, would authorize police to temporarily take guns from a person deemed by a judge to pose a threat after a current or former household member raises concerns about the person. The court would have to hold a hearing within 10 days to determine whether to return the weapons to that person, lawmakers said.

"Based upon the scores of warning signs about this individual, if a like law was in effect in Florida, that family that brought this troubled young man into their household would have had a way and a pathway to have those weapons removed," McKeon said.

Critics, however, said the bill does not give adequate due process to the person accused of posing a threat.

The other bills approved Wednesday were:

A-1181: Creates a process by which police can seize any firearm held by a person deemed as dangerous by a mental health professional.

A-2757: Expands background checks to include private gun sales.

A-2758: Creates a stricter standard of what applicants for a concealed carry permit have to show in order to prove they need the permit.

A-2759: Adds bullets capable of penetrating body armor to a lengthy list of prohibited weapons and devices in New Jersey.

A-2761: Imposes a 10-round limit on the capacity of gun magazines, down from the current 15.

During his roughly six weeks in office, Murphy has already set in motion a process to reverse a regulatory change championed by Christie to make it easier for people to carry concealed handguns. He also announced the creation of a coalition with three other states designed to limit the flow of illegal firearms across state lines, cut down on gun crimes and study gun violence.

Murphy has promised more steps, including banning .50-caliber weapons, mandating safety training for new gun owners and taxing gun sales.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to add context to a claim made by Assemblywoman Annette Quijano about the number of shootings that have happened on school grounds in American since the beginning of the year.

Email: pugliese@northjersey.com