ASSEMBLY, No. 2526

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED DECEMBER 5, 1996

By Assemblyman GREENWALD

An Act concerning the possession of weapons in certain cases and supplementing chapter 39 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. a. Any person who knowingly has in his possession any weapon while within the common or parking areas of any shopping center is guilty of a crime of the third degree.

    As used in this section, "shopping center" means a privately owned or operated commercial development having rentable space available for or leased to retail stores and an adjacent parking area to which the public is invited.

    b. The provisions of subsection a. of this section shall not apply to: (1) a law enforcement officer permitted to carry a weapon under the provisions of N.J.S.2C:39-6; (2) a person permitted to possess a firearm about his place of business under the provisions of subsection e. of N.J.S.2C:39-6; (3) a security guard who possesses a valid permit to carry a handgun under N.J.S.2C:58-4 or is permitted to possess any other weapon under N.J.S.2C:39-6 and has the written authorization of the owner or operator of the shopping center; or (4) an employee of an armored car company who possesses a valid permit to carry a handgun under N.J.S.2C:58-4 or is permitted to possess any other weapon under N.J.S.2C:39-6 while in the actual performance of his duties; and (5) any person who, in conformance with the provisions of subsection i. of N.J.S.2C:39-6, possesses for the purpose of personal self-defense 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.

    c. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude, if the evidence so warrants, an indictment and conviction for a violation of N.J.S.2C:39-3 concerning the possession of a prohibited weapon or device; N.J.S.2C:39-4 concerning the possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; or N.J.S.2C:39-5 concerning the unlawful possession of a weapon.

    Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:1-8 or any other provisions of law, a conviction arising under this section shall not merge with a conviction for a violation of N.J.S.2C:39-3, N.J.S.2C:39-4 or N.J.S.2C:39-5.

    Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:44-5 or any other provisions of law, any such multiple sentences of imprisonment so imposed shall run consecutively.

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill establishes the possession of a weapon within or on the common or parking areas of a shopping center as a crime of the third degree. A crime of the third degree in punishable by a fine of not more than $7,500, imprisonment for a term of three to five years, or both.

    The prohibition against possessing a weapon on shopping center property does not apply to law enforcement officers, persons who are statutorily permitted to keep or carry a firearm about their place of business, a properly licensed security guard who has the written permission of the owner or operator of the shopping center, or a properly licensed armored car company employ while performing his actual duties.

    Neither does the bill apply to individuals who legally carry small dispensers of mace, pepper gas or some other similar chemical for personal self-defense.

    The bill specifically prohibits the merging of convictions. A person convicted of violating the provisions of this bill by possessing a weapon within or on shopping center property also may be convicted, if the evidence so warrants, of possessing a prohibited weapon (N.J.S.2C:39-3); possessing a weapon for an unlawful purpose (N.J.S.2C:39-4); or unlawfully possessing a weapon (N.J.S.2C:39-5).

    Furthermore, the bill provides that in such cases of multiple convictions the defendant must serve the resulting sentences of imprisonment in a consecutive manner, not concurrently.

    A weapon is defined in the New Jersey statutes as anything readily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury. The term includes firearms, various types of knives, billies, blackjacks, bludgeons, metal knuckles, sandclubs, cesti or other similar leather bands studded with metal filings or razor blades imbedded in wood, and stun guns.

Establishes crime of possessing a weapon on shopping center property.