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Quinn
04-11-13, 14:54
Ok Lived 20 years in New Jersey, moved down to Florida for 2 years. Might be moving back to New Jersey to attend nursing school. If i go, I will be selling off all my weapons but would like to bring one handgun up north (probably g19 maybe a colt rail gun). I still have my Firearms card from when I received it in 2009 but I will be moving to a different address. The card also says rifle and shotgun, doesn't include handgun. Can I legally bring it a handgun to New Jersey? Would I have to register it? Do I need a card for the Handgun? If the answer is yes to the card and registration how about a rifle or shotgun? Would I be good to go because I have my card from 2009?

I feel like a criminal already for even thinking about owning a weapon in that state. :meeting:

McNulty
04-11-13, 16:07
Firearms ID cards in NJ are only good for long guns. Address on card, has to match NJ drivers license as well. Sadly, If you are moving to a different address/municipality you are going to have to go through the process of getting a Firearms ID card again. With all long gun/handgun sales, a background check is run at shops. It is almost a week backlog as of last month, when i got a lower FFLd to me. A separate handgun permit has to be applied for from the police station in your municipality or from NJSP if you do not have a local department. I put if for another handgun permit right after Sandy Hook and am still waiting for it to be approved. Hands down one of the most unfriendly states to be a lawful gun owner. PM me if you have anymore questions.

SpankMonkey
04-11-13, 16:19
Never ever move to New Germany. There are lots of schools in Florida.

Quinn
04-11-13, 18:12
Thanks for clearing everything up Mcnulty. Wish I could stay in Florida but firearms arent everything, although sometimes I wish they were.

McNulty
04-11-13, 19:17
No worries brother. I am a Police Officer here and can say 99% of the guys I work with have no idea of the firearms laws (especially regarding the asinine "assault weapon" laws) in the state. I would always recommend erring on the side of caution regarding firearms in this state.

Sathar
04-12-13, 07:35
Excellent advice from Officer McNulty.

I am neither a lawyer nor LEO, but here's my read on our friendly local laws: First, keep in mind that pretty much everything, including most common bodily functions, is illegal in New Jersey, unless you are carefully applying a relevant "Exception" (LE and the Judiciary may have a very different idea of what's "Relevant" than you). All firearms possession is illegal in New Jersey, "Except" in your home (or business, range/club, or if you are one of the three civilians with a carry permit). That said, there is no legal requirement for registration of your firearms (though there are a number of traps designed to register your weapons as a "Courtesy" -- pretty much all new purchases).

Technically you don't need an FID to possess a firearm in your home, but you'll still want one as soon as possible (I think you're legally obligated to show an FID if you are caught with a long arm outside, and you'll need it to buy ammo as of 2010). As McNulty pointed out, you'll need a new one, and whether it's a new issue or address change the paperwork is basically the same.

My $0.02: it's significantly easier (or less hard) to own a firearm in New Jersey than to acquire/dispose of one. If practical, you may wish to hang on to more than just your Glock. You're not under any obligation to admit what you're bringing, and and it will be a major pain to replace/expand your collection later. DO be careful bringing them in -- FOPA should protect you transporting them directly yourself, or I think (not positive) you can ship them to yourself. DO NOT drive around with anything locked in the trunk (other than the direct trip) -- the last person that tried it eventually got the Governor to commute his sentence, but no guarantee it'll happen again.

Also, DO consider joining a gun range/club (there are a couple) -- theoretically you have a few more rights than the general masses (language like being permitted "Reasonable" stops transporting instead of only "Necessary" stops).

Welcome back!

Edit -- Regarding my last statement, the difference is the omission of the word "Directly" when traveling to a range if you are the member of a club.

Quinn
04-12-13, 23:54
The handgun would not leave the house. I won't be able to afford ammo or range time. To be honest I might not even go through the trouble of getting an FID. I know it's scary to think of living without a firearm but this is the reality I'm faced with at the time. My rational is that once I am a nurse and I am employed I will be making enough to purchase more than I could ever afford right now.

Sathar
04-13-13, 06:56
Being a student can bring some difficult economic choices, and New Jersey is not a cheap place to live. Only you know your financial capabilities. Bear in mind that anything you got in Florida that you try to replace later in New Jersey is going to cost a lot more in both money and frustration. Still, you may still be able to cash in on the buying frenzy going on now and net yourself some nice coin that'll come in very handy. Do all the sales in Florida if at all possible -- the hoops you have to jump through not to be branded as an Arms Smuggler (I think the legal term is "Leader of a Firearms Trafficking Network") up here are dizzying.

The FID card is, for the moment, still relatively inexpensive. Not much has changed since you got your last one: the fee is still $4, though the fingerprinting which used to be a free (or close) service of your local police office, though the miracle of graft has been outsourced to a racket call Morphotrack to the tune of $60+. You'll learn to despise the name, as it's the same outfit that you'll use probably for your school and definitely for your nursing license. And Yes, Virginia, you have to pay the full fee every single time (though hopefully only once for your FID).

One more caveat about the FID: the "Law" hasn't changed in that it's still only supposed to take 30 days at most to process. Under normal conditions YMMV from town to town anywhere from a few days to calling you on Day 29 to notify you that your references failed to use the correct brand of stationary. Since POTUS kicked off his membership drive in December, the system has been completely overloaded and I'm led to understand that even friendly municipalities are taking months to process.

Ammo, I don't know. Yes it's expensive right now. Hopefully it'll get better, but not necessarily for us. Trenton is trying to ban mail order. Most big box stores don't carry it here, and LGS's are few and not particularly cheap.

Range time can be costly. I still strongly advocate joining a club, though while many are free to shoot, the application and annual fees are typically a few hundred dollars each. If you plan to shoot infrequently (less than once/month), a public range is probably cheaper, though they're not as common as in freer states.

It's not as terrible here as people make it out, but it's not Florida, do be careful and watch your back. Do you mind if I ask where you're going to school? We have several excellent nursing programs up here in the northern part of the state (I'm sure the rest of the NJ is the same).

Sathar
04-13-13, 07:00
Oh, one more point on ammunition. Hollow point: they changed the laws a couple of years ago, but it's so FUBAR that while it's technically legal if it never leaves your house, most people simply don't bother with it at all. Leave it in Florida.

Quinn
04-13-13, 13:57
Ouch, I finished a CNA program not long ago so I am familiar with Morphotrust. I will actually be attending a School in Bronxville NY called Concordia. I am going back up to New Jersey because I will be able to live with my family while I attend school.

I was a member of the Cherry Hill Gun Club when I was living in New Jersey. During that time I shot a colt HBAR that I had tricked out. The last time I went I was shooting at the intermediate rifle range, the RO came to scold me for shooting to quickly. During that time he inspected my rifle to ensure that my stock was pinned and my 20 rnd. mags were all neutered to 15. I packed my gear up and never went back. I do not blame the RO and understand they need to protect themselves, just didn't see a purpose of paying that money for membership when I could go to another range and have more freedom.

Would changing my address on my long gun FID card be a faster route? Handgun isn't so important if you cant carry it outside your home.

Arik
04-13-13, 14:02
Any chance you can move to the Pa side of NJ. that way you bring all your stuff!

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Quinn
04-13-13, 14:11
When I am done with school that might be a possibility. Would like to move to move back to a free state preferably on the East coast. As stated before moving to New Jersey just makes sense, I will save alot of money by living with my family. I have a feeling alot of people might be shaking their heads at my decision because they are thinking of moving to Florida. I have a word of advice, avoid the Miami area like the plague. Dont go further south than Ft. Lauderdale. My mother spends sometime down here and came up with the term Floridiots, its very fitting.

RalphK.
04-13-13, 14:35
Love how some make jersey the worst state to live in...


All you need is a change of address on your fid card...time depends on your Dept and the State police...

Sathar
04-13-13, 15:37
Check with your town police office when you get here. I'm pretty sure Address change and New app are the same form and procedure, but you might get away with not having to repeat the background check.

RalphK.
04-13-13, 17:49
Yes same form just a diff check off box...