State and local reviews were mixed on the 22-bill package of state Assembly gun control laws headed to the Senate for consideration.
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New Jersey state Sen. Michael Doherty, R-Warren/Hunterdon/Somerset, says, "Anyone that has the illusion that it is simple to purchase a gun in New Jersey is wrong."
"Anyone that has the illusion that it is simple to purchase a gun in New Jersey is wrong," Doherty said Friday, reacting to Assembly
approval Thursday of a raft of stricter gun legislation.
Other state and local reviews were mixed on the
22-bill package of gun control laws headed to the Senate for consideration.
Some of the measures approved last week include reducing the maximum capacity of magazines from 15 rounds to 10 and banning online sales of firearms and ammunition.
The measures approved by the Assembly also require the submission of certain mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and establishing a 180-day prohibition of handgun purchases for anyone convicted of failing to report a lost or stolen gun. The current ban is 30 days.
"The government can certainly do a lot more things to improve the situation rather than heaping on more gun control laws when we're already one of the most stringent states," Doherty said.
Although Doherty said he couldn't comment on specifics of the measures without an extensive review, any indication as to how he may vote may lie within his legislative district.
"Many of my constituents are strong believers of the Second Amendment, and I join them," he said.
Rural vs. urban
But that's a little less clear cut for state Sen. Shirley Turner, a Democrat whose 15th District covers rural and suburban parts of Hunterdon County as well as the city of Trenton, where 165 shooting incidents were logged just last year, according to a Times of Trenton report.
While she'll look to combat the plague of gun violence that has run rampant in her district's urban areas, Turner said she's also keeping the responsible gun owners and hunters in the district's rural areas in mind.
"They're not the people we need to crack down on," she said.
While Turner said she has yet to closely examine the bills approved by the Assembly, she said that however the Senate decides to handle them, a unilateral approach to gun violence -- overwhelmingly pro-gun or anti-gun -- isn't going to solve anything.
"I believe it has to be a comprehensive approach," Turner said.
Efforts Friday to reach Republican Sen. Steven Oroho, whose district includes portions of Warren County, were unsuccessful.
Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, told a Philadelphia radio station Friday that he expects the Senate to take up the bills by the end of April, according to a Star-Ledger report.
Bills' fate in Senate
Without offering specifics, Sweeney said some of the 22 total bills may be changed or done away with altogether, the paper reported.
Away from the Statehouse, Thursday's vote also resonated at the local level.
One of the measures, Assembly Bill 1387, gives municipalities the right to establish weapon-free zones around public buildings and places such as schools, parks and libraries. The bill would only target those illegally possessing firearms within 1,000 feet of designated areas and not apply to lawful, registered owners.
The bill could have some interest to Hackettstown Mayor Maria DiGiovanni, a member of the national Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition that looks to prevent criminals from illegally obtaining firearms.
Though a "firm believer" in the Second Amendment, DiGiovanni said a bill like this might have the ability to raise public awareness to the cause and could be worth exploring.
"I'd definitely take a look and consider it," DiGiovanni said.