SENATE LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1236

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH 3, 1997

      The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 1236.

      This bill would permit a firearms instructor certified by the Police Training Commission; the Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife and the State Park Service in the Department of Environmental Protection; the Director of Civilian Marksmanship of the United States Department of the Army; or a recognized rifle or pistol association that certifies instructors to transfer temporarily a firearm to a person enrolled in an approved training course for the use, handling and maintenance of firearms. The firearm could be transferred to the person by the instructor during the sessions of the course only for the purposes of training and participating in the course. The transfers could occur only upon a firing range or, if the firearm is unloaded, in an area designated and appropriate for training. The transferred firearm could only be used in the actual presence and under the direct supervision of the instructor for not more than eight consecutive hours in any 24-hour period.

      A transfer under this bill may be made to a person whether or not the person holds a firearms license, firearms purchaser identification card or a handgun purchase permit; however, a transfer could not be made to a person who does not meet the qualifications for obtaining or holding a firearms purchaser identification card or handgun purchase permit under N.J.S.2C:58-3. The bill also excludes from the protection of the bill any transfer of a firearm that occurs during training for an illegal activity.

      This bill is analogous to a recently enacted law, P.L.1992, c.74 (C.2C:58-3.1), permitting temporary transfers of firearms under limited circumstances for the purposes of target practice, trap or skeet shooting, competition or hunting.