Sponsored by:

Assemblyman TIM EUSTACE

District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE

District 37 (Bergen)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Zwicker

SYNOPSIS

Memorializes Legislatures of 43 states to enact legislation to ban AR-15 and other assault firearms.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

A Concurrent Resolution memorializing Legislatures of the several states to ban assault firearms.

Whereas, The military-style AR-15 and other assault firearms have become the weapons of choice in the mass shootings that have devastated the United States in recent years, having been used in 14 public mass shootings in the past 10 years; and

Whereas, On June 12, 2016, an AR-15-type assault rifle was used to commit the worst mass shooting in the nation's history, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida; and

Whereas, The AR-15 is a civilian variant of the military's M-16 series of rifles and carbines that can fire large amounts of ammunition in a relatively short period of time, and with high accuracy; and

Whereas, An AR-15 is typically loaded with a 30-round magazine, although larger magazines that can carry 75 to 100 rounds are commercially available; and

Whereas, On December 2, 2015, a husband and wife armed with four guns, including two assault firearms, killed 14 people at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California; and

Whereas, On December 14, 2012, a man armed with assault firearms committed an unthinkable atrocity, killing 20 children and six adults in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut; and

Whereas, On July 20, 2012, an assault firearm was used to kill 12 and wound 70 others at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado; and

Whereas, More Americans have been killed by guns since 1968 than have died in all the United States wars combined, beginning from the Revolutionary War; and

Whereas, The guns purchased to commit 63 of the 79 mass shootings since 1982 were purchased legally; and

Whereas, A 2007 report by the International Association of Chiefs of Police recommended that Congress enact an effective ban on military-style assault weapons in order to curb the ability of criminals to "outgun" law enforcement officers; and

Whereas, In 1994, Congress adopted the "Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994," which made it "unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer, or possess" a semiautomatic assault weapon; however, this law expired in 2004 and the ban has not been reinstated; and

Whereas, Notwithstanding this previous 10-year ban, experts estimate that five million Americans currently own assault firearms; and

Whereas, Assault firearms are banned in the State of New Jersey and six other states, as well as in the District of Columbia; however, assault firearms are legal in the vast majority of states; and

Whereas, It is clear that, in the absence of a federal ban on assault firearms, action by Legislatures of the 43 remaining states to ban assault firearms is necessary in order to protect the public safety and prevent further deaths by firearms; and

Whereas, It is therefore fitting and proper that the Legislatures of these states act quickly to protect our nation's children and other citizens from further danger of gun violence; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

1. The Legislature of this State respectfully memorializes the Legislatures of the 43 states in which assault firearms are lawful to enact legislation banning AR-15 and other assault firearms.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Legislatures of each of the several states, with the exception of California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York.

STATEMENT

This resolution would memorialize the Legislatures of the several states to enact legislation banning assault firearms.

Currently seven states including New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia, ban assault firearms. This resolution highlights the overwhelming facts which support a nationwide ban on assault firearms. The federal legislation banning firearms was enacted in 1994, but expired in 2004 and has not been reinstated. This resolution urges the Legislatures in the 43 states in which assault firearms are lawful to take action to ban these weapons.