Court shoots down law limiting gun purchases (Jersey City, NJ)

[davepc]

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1222748747129450.xml&coll=1

A state appeals court yesterday struck down a controversial Jersey City law seeking to limit the number of handguns people can buy.

Jersey City's law had sought to keep people from buying more than one handgun every 30 days. The unanimous appeals panel said Jersey City exceeded its authority and didn't have a right to enact such a local law because state law already regulates the sale of handguns.

"Jersey City, via the ordinance at issue, seeks to impose a local standard in a subject matter area that has been rather comprehensively addressed by the state," wrote Appellate Division Judge Howard Kestin, who was joined by Judges Edwin Stern and Christine Miniman.

The decision noted New Jersey allows "an individual to have multiple handgun permits so long as the permits are obtained in compliance with strict guidelines" in state law.

...

"Everyone knows the first order of any government is ... public safety," said Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy. "We are aimed at stanching the flow of illegal guns on the street."

The ruling imposes upon home rule, said some advocates of the measure.

If people follow the permit law (which involves an in person visit to the local police station) how are they contributing to the "flow of illegal guns"?

[iverglas]

1. explain "straw purchaser" to me again ...

[one-eyed fat man]

3. straw purchaser

A straw purchase is when a buyer uses an intermediary (the "straw man") to purchase a firearm(s) from a licensed firearms dealer. The purpose is to hide the true identity of the actual purchaser of the firearm(s). Straw purchases are a felony violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968 for both the straw purchaser (who can be charged with lying on Federal Form 4473) and the actual possessor. Frequently, the actual purchaser is a prohibited person under federal law, but that is NOT an element of the offense. It is enough to be buying the gun for another person.

It is often difficult for the dealer to know if the person standing before him at the retail counter is a legitimate purchaser or acting as a straw purchaser (willing to lie on the Form 4473 in order to obtain the firearm). It is possible for a straw purchaser to lie on the Form 4473, pass the mandatory background NICS check and obtain the firearm without any knowledge or complicity on the part of the licensed dealer. While the purchase may have been a criminal act, it does not mean the sale by the dealer was also illegal or that the dealer is corrupt. A straw purchaser may buy one gun that way. Multiple gun sales are another matter altogether.

If an FFL sells or disposes of more than one handgun to any non-licensee during a period of 5 consecutive business days, the sale must be reported on ATF Form 3310.4, Report of Multiple Sale or Other Disposition of Pistols and Revolvers, not later than the close of the business day on which the licensee sold or disposed of the second handgun. The licensee must forward a copy of the Form 3310.4 to the ATF office specified thereon, and another copy must be forwarded to the State police or local law enforcement agency where the sale occurred. A copy of the Form 3310.4 also must be attached to the firearms transaction record, ATF Form 4473, documenting the sale or disposition of the second handgun. <18 U.S.C. 923(g)(3), 27 CFR 478.126a>

If the "straw purchaser" tries to avoid triggering the FFL reporting a multiple sale to the ATF, going to several dealers in the same day should make alarm bells ring off the walls at Martinsburg, WV when the NICS checks are called in. I would venture that effective large scale operations would be tough to keep "below the radar."

[ManiacJoe]

4. I am pretty sure she just forgot

the sarcasm tags, but thank you for the detailed explanation for others in need of the explanation.

[iverglas]

5. actually, yes on both counts

The post was sarcastic, but that is a very useful summary.

Just so I'm clear, and no, I'm not being sarcastic: buying a handgun every Monday (every 7th day), from different dealers, would not trigger any reporting requirement / alarm bells?

I ask because large-scale operations are not the only thing to worry about. Four handguns making their way onto the streets of Toronto via a cross-border truck driver, for instance -- and straw purchases are in the US are one way that happens -- would be regarded as a significant bad thing there.

One straw purchase alone can have quite unpleasant sequelae.


No rush, going home to catch about 12 hours' sleep ...

[one-eyed fat man]

9. worth the risk?

What does a gun fetch on the black market in Toronto? Even buying in a state that has no requirements above the Federal law the truck driver is going to have to show some identification indicating he is a resident of the State, or require the services of a straw purchaser himself.

Assuming you are bringing in 4 guns a month, is the potential profit worth the risk? I'd wager for that level of smuggling your shady trucker could do better smuggling cigarettes from Kentucky and significantly less risk if caught. Plus he won't be leaving a paper trail if he buys them cash.

Wasn't there some scandal involving the Niagra Falls Chief of Police on the Canadian side adding confiscated guns to his personal collection 20 or so years ago? That didn't make sense either, throwing away a career and a family for chump change as the guns he was supposed to have snagged were not big money collector items.

[old mark]

12. On the required form to be filled out by the gun purchaser,

the first question relates to ownership.
"Straw purchase" of firearms is a crime, and has been for years.
Recently, and eastern PA salesman who had been buying and re-selling handguns was sentenced to a long term in state prison when he was convicted of selling a gun used in the death of a police officer.
These things are already crimes.


mark

[AtheistCrusader]

10. I always assume

that the "known" intervals for this kind of reporting are either intentionally misleading, or that the controlling authority can at the very least set up reporting that is more stringent, for 'follow-up purposes'.

There's really no reason for them to accurately inform the public how closely they watch multiple purchases.

[one-eyed fat man]

11. differing requirements

The requirement for dealers to report multiple sales is pretty straight forward. If you sell a gun and then sell another gun to that same person within 5 days you MUST report it as prescribed. Note that the mandated reports are made both to the ATF and local authorities.

Now what the FBI and ATF do with the records of NICS checks is open to debate. The Justice Department audits have found instances of NICS check data being retained beyond the statutory limitations. The disposition of dealer records they have collected since 1968 are also subject to some controversy. If you give up your license (retire or otherwise quit the business) you must have all of your dealer records (bound books and 4473's) to the ATF within 14 days. Despite Congressional language prohibiting a database of gun owners, there are persistent reports that these records are scanned into a computer database.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

6. A straw purchaser would be violating the permit law.

Correct?

[pipoman]

7. Yep, it's already illegal to

transfer/loaning a gun without verifying the purchaser/borrower has a valid NJ permit. Of coarse straw purchase is also a violation of federal law. It can be argued that without a tracking system it would be difficult to identify many straw purchases at the federal level, however, even when a gun is used in the commission of a crime and an investigation finds a possible straw purchase, rarely is the purchaser investigated, let alone indicted, at the federal level. Redundancy of unenforced laws makes some people feel better I guess.

[slackmaster]

2. Obviously the problem in Jersey City is...

...Corrupt cops.

In before good old what's-his-face from New Jersey.

[davepc]

8. The pistol permit process can be time consuming to go through...

It's not unusual for an individual to get multiple pistol permits at one time. You need one permit PER gun you buy. The law says the police have 30 days to approve/deny. Sometimes the government compiles with the law and sometimes they don't.

Permits are only good for 90 days. You can get it renewed for another 90 days. So you either purchase within that time frame or you're going back to the police to fill out more paperwork.

You also have to sign a mental health waiver that allows the goverment to check to see if you've been institutionalized.

Here's a copy of the permit form:
http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/pdf/firearms/sts-033.pdf

There's also a form for a carry permit:
http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/pdf/firearms/sp-642.pdf

Retired cops are special citizens here in the State of New Jersey...so they get their own special carry permit form. Also their carry status is "shall issue". Everybody else gets "may issue" which here is just as good as "no issue". They don't need 4 character witness and the Superintendent of State Police is the ones who signs off of the permit, unlike normal citizens who have to go before a judge.

http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/pdf/firearms/sp-232.pdf