Updates on Permits to Carry Firearms (Part 7)

by | Oct 29, 2023 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County

The list of “sensitive places” and prohibitions continues in relevant part: (1) Nothing in N.J.S.2C:39-5 shall be construed to prevent any person who is 18 years of age or older and who has not been convicted of a crime, from possession for the purpose of personal self-defense of one pocket-sized device which contains and releases not more than three-quarters of an ounce of chemical substance not ordinarily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury, but rather, is intended to produce temporary physical discomfort or disability through being vaporized or otherwise dispensed in the air. Any person in possession of any device in violation of this subsection shall be deemed and adjudged to be a disorderly person, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $100.

2C:39-5 Firearms or Other Weapons in Educational Institutions. e.(3) Any person who knowingly has in his possession any imitation firearm in or upon any part of the buildings or grounds of any school, college, university or other educational institution, without the written authorization of the governing officer of the institution, or while on any school bus is a disorderly person, irrespective of whether he possesses a valid permit to carry a firearm or a valid firearms purchaser identification card. 2009, c.13. 2013, c.113, s.1. N.J.A.C. 13:69D-1.13

Firearms; Possession Within Casino or Casino Simulcasting Facility (a) No person, including the security department members, shall possess or be permitted to possess any pistol or firearm within a casino or casino simulcasting facility without the express written approval of the Division provided that employees and agents of the Division may possess such pistols or firearms at the discretion of the director of the Division. At the request of the casino licensee’s security department and upon its notification to the State Police, a law enforcement officer may, in an emergency situation, enter a casino or casino simulcasting facility with a firearm.

The provisions above addressing imitation firearms and pepper spray are distinct from the addressing the places where those with permits-to-carry cannot bring their firearms. It is doubtful that casinos should be considered per se “sensitive places” under the Bruen decision. While casinos are at least usually easy to identify, the same cannot be said for a “casino simulcasting facility.”