When New Jersey’s ban on large-capacity gun magazines went into effect last December, it forced gun owners to make a decision.

Should they turn the magazines over to law enforcement? Should they modify them into compliance? Should they sell them to authorized owners or store them in another state?

Or simply ignore the law which banned magazines that have more than 10 rounds?

There are about one million gun owners in the state, which translates into a huge number of magazines.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has previously described large-capacity magazines as “dangerous” because of how they are “disproportionately used in mass shootings.” The law is one of the numerous gun laws that has been passed over the last year, making New Jersey’s tough gun laws even stricter. Possession of a large-capacity magazine gun can result in up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

As the state’s largest gun group challenges the constitutionality of the law, gun owners have had to get creative with how they abide by the law.

Some gun owners have buried their large-capacity magazines in their backyard or behind sheetrock in their garage, said Eric Rebels, a local gun rights activist and owner of GunSitters, a secure firearms storage system company.

Others are opting to store them away from their homes.

A cart full of high capacity magazines that needs to be put in a locked safe. County Line Firearms leases a firearm security vault to hold high capacity magazines that have been turned over to them (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

“Thousands and thousands” of large-capacity magazines are stored currently at GunSitters in Whippany, where gun owners have handed over their large-capacity magazines, taking advantage of the storage option as litigation plays out, Rebels said. Some have turned over more than 100 magazines, which are held in a 3,000-square-foot steel vault.

In conjunction with County Line Firearms, a gun store in East Hanover where Rebels is a manager, they collect, catalogue and store as many large-capacity magazines as they can. It costs $1.25 per magazine a month to store it there.

Gun stores are legally allowed to store the banned magazines, but they cannot sell them.

The one thing Rebels said gun owners are not doing is handing their large-capacity magazines over to law enforcement, one of the choices state officials encouraged when the law went into effect.

A New Jersey State Police spokesman said not a single large-capacity magazine has been turned in since the law went into effect nearly nine months ago. Residents can also bring them to their local police departments.

“The law is mistargeted. It is not at all surprising to me (that no one has turned them over to State Police),” said Scott Bach, the executive director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, the organization who is challenging the constitutionality of the law.

“Why would you turn in property you paid money for when a government has banned it when there is a lawsuit challenging it that could take a few years?” he said.

The storage of the banned magazines is also helping to fund the lawsuit challenging the large-capacity magazine ban law. Rebels said 20 percent of the money through the storage program is going towards funding the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol’s lawsuit.

They plan to appeal it up to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary, said Bach, the executive director of the organization. If the ban remains intact, Rebels said people who have their magazines stored in the vault can have them modified to 10 rounds or sell or ship them out of state.

County Line Firearms leases a firearm security vault to hold "thousands and thousands" of banned large-capacity magazines that have been turned over to them. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

While Bach is optimistic his organization will eventually prove that the law is unconstitutional, the courts have routinely disagreed. The latest blow was when a federal judge ruled in July that the law is constitutional after the state moved for a judgement on the case. The judge sided with a federal appellate court’s ruling and said its decision “resolves all legal issues in this case.”

The organization plans to file an appeal, Bach said.

An Attorney General spokesperson did not know how many people have been charged with using or possessing a large-capacity magazine, but said they will continue to strictly enforce the law.

“When the Legislature and Governor give us new tools to tackle gun violence, we use them,” the spokesperson said … “By reducing the number of LCMs in circulation, state law limits criminals’ access to these lethal weapons and promotes both public safety and law enforcement safety.”

But pro-gun advocates argue that this law only targets law-abiding citizens, insisting that criminals won’t suddenly stop using large-capacity magazines when committing crimes.

Theresa Napolitano, an attorney who is storing around a dozen magazines at the GunSitters vault, said she “resents the fact that this law went into effect,” but for the time being, the single mother has relinquished the magazines she said makes her feel safe in her home.

“I want to follow the law,” she said. “Even though I don’t agree with it.”

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Follow on Twitter @monavage. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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