Updates on Permits to Carry Firearms (Part 5)

by | Oct 25, 2023 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County

The list of prohibited places continues with the following: (22) a facility licensed or regulated by the Department of Human Services, Department of Children and Families, or Department of Health, other than a health care facility, that provides addiction or mental health treatment or support services; (23) a public location being used for making motion picture or television images for theatrical, commercial or educational purposes, during the time such location is being used for that purpose; (24) private property, including but not limited to residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, institutional or undeveloped property, unless the owner has provided express consent or has posted a sign indicating that it is permissible to carry on the premises a concealed handgun with a valid and lawfully issued permit under N.J.S.2C:58-4, provided that nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect the authority to keep or carry a firearm established under subsection e. of N.J.S.2C:39-6; and (25) any other place in which the carrying of a firearm is prohibited by statute or rule or regulation promulgated by a federal or State agency.

Here we see more vague language that gives little guidance and creates confusion for those who are licensed to carry firearms. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to recognize if a facility is “licensed or regulated” by the above-listed departments. The same goes for a public location that is being used for making television images.

The “private property” prohibition is also contradictory. The Bruen decision holds that private property is a permissible place for carrying a firearm unless the property owner conspicuously posts a sign to the contrary. Here, the New Jersey authorities have unreasonably shifted the burden and required property owners to post a sign that the carrying of firearms is permitted. The section then ends with the broadest imaginable prohibition regarding “rules” with no guidance as to the type of “rule” that is referenced.