Updates on Permits to Carry Firearms (Part 6)

by | Oct 27, 2023 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County

The list of “sensitive places” and prohibitions continues with the following in relevant part: (1) A person, other than a person lawfully carrying a firearm within the authorized scope of an exemption set forth in subsection a., c., or l. of N.J.S.2C:39-6, who is otherwise authorized under the law to carry or transport a firearm shall not do so while in a vehicle in New Jersey, unless the handgun is unloaded and contained in a closed and securely fastened case, gun box, or locked unloaded in the trunk of the vehicle.

(2) A holder of a valid and lawfully issued permit to carry a handgun shall not leave a handgun outside of their immediate possession or control within a parked vehicle, unless the handgun is unloaded and contained in a closed and securely fastened case, or gun box, and is not visible from outside of the vehicle, or is locked unloaded in the trunk or storage area of the vehicle. c. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections a. and b. of this section, the holder of a valid and lawfully issued permit to carry under N.J.S.2C:58-4 who is otherwise prohibited under this section from carrying a concealed firearm into the parking area of a prohibited location specified in subsection a. of this section shall be permitted to: (1) transport a concealed handgun or ammunition within a vehicle into or out of the parking area, provided that the handgun is unloaded and contained in a closed and securely fastened case, gun box, or locked unloaded in the trunk or storage area of the vehicle; (2) store a handgun or ammunition within a locked lock box and out of plain view within the vehicle in the parking area; (3) transport a concealed handgun in the immediate area surrounding their vehicle within a prohibited parking lot area only for the limited purpose of storing or retrieving the handgun within a locked lock box in the vehicle’s trunk or other place inside the vehicle that is out of plain view; and (4) transport a concealed handgun between a vehicle parked within a prohibited parking lot area and a place other than a prohibited place enumerated in subsection a. of this section, provided that the person immediately leaves the parking lot area and does not enter into or on the grounds of the prohibited place with the handgun.

Theses prohibitions are overly broad and contradictory. Those with permits-to-carry must keep their firearms holstered in public. It is impossible to keep a firearm holstered in public if it must be removed from a holster, stored in a trunk, retrieved from the trunk, and loaded in public.