ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE, No. 1601

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

 

ADOPTED MARCH 3, 1997

 

 

Sponsored by Senators BASSANO and KOSCO

 

 

An Act concerning certain sales and transfers of firearms to persons under the age of 18 years 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 sells, gives, transfers, assigns or otherwise disposes of a firearm to a person who is under the age of 18 years, except as permitted in section 14 of P.L.1979, c.179 (C.2C:58-6.1), shall be strictly liable for any crime, or attempted crime, in which that firearm is used by that underage person and subject to the penalties prescribed for that crime in the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice.

      b. The provisions of N.J.S.2C:2-3 shall not apply in a prosecution under this section. For the purposes of this section, the defendant's act of selling, giving, transferring, assigning or otherwise disposing of the firearm to the person under the age of 18 is the cause of the crime when:

      (1) The subsequent use of that firearm by the underage person in the commission, or attempted commission, of a crime is an antecedent but for which the crime would not have occurred; and

      (2) The crime was not:

      (a) too remote in its occurrence as to have a just bearing on the defendant's liability; or

      (b) too dependent upon conduct of another person which was unrelated to the use of the firearm by the underage person in the commission, or attempted commission, of the crime as to have a just bearing on the defendant's liability.

      c. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude or limit any prosecution for a crime. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:1-8 or any other provision of law, a conviction arising under this section shall not merge with a conviction for a violation of subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:39-10.


      2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

                             

 

Holds seller of a firearm to a minor liable for the crimes subsequently attempted or committed by the minor with that firearm.