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PatrolEyes

Firearm Surrender and "Gun Buybacks"

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At rallies and meetings, I have heard people comment that gun buybacks are illegal.  At first I thought yes, since 2C:39-6 provided no exemptions for travel to a LPD or parking lot to surrender firearms.  But after researching, I think that if the buyback LPD provides a "sign in sheet" at the door, this could qualify for written notice.  2C:39-12 states that if a person possesses firearms and gives "written notice" of the intention to surrender them, no offense is committed by that person. 

 

Read for yourself below.  Anyone disagree with me? 

 

 

2C:39-12.  Voluntary surrender
    No person shall be convicted of an offense under this chapter for possessing  any firearms, weapons, destructive devices, silencers or explosives, if after  giving written notice of his intention to do so, including the proposed date  and time of surrender, he voluntarily surrendered the weapon, device,  instrument or substance in question to the superintendent or to the chief of  police in the municipality in which he resides, provided that the required  notice is received by the superintendent or chief of police before any charges  have been made or complaints filed against such person for the unlawful  possession of the weapon, device, instrument or substance in question and  before any investigation has been commenced by any law enforcement agency  concerning the unlawful possession.  Nothing in this section shall be construed  as granting immunity from prosecution for any crime or offense except that of the unlawful possession of such weapons, devices, instruments or substances surrendered as herein provided.

     L.1978, c. 95, s. 2C:39-12, eff. Sept. 1, 1979.
 

 

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2C:39-12.  Voluntary surrender

    No person shall be convicted of an offense under this chapter for possessing  any firearms, weapons, destructive devices, silencers or explosives, if after  giving written notice of his intention to do so, including the proposed date  and time of surrender, he voluntarily surrendered the weapon, device,  instrument or substance in question to the superintendent or to the chief of  police in the municipality in which he resides, provided that the required  notice is received by the superintendent or chief of police before any charges  have been made or complaints filed against such person for the unlawful  possession of the weapon, device, instrument or substance in question and  before any investigation has been commenced by any law enforcement agency  concerning the unlawful possession.  Nothing in this section shall be construed  as granting immunity from prosecution for any crime or offense except that of the unlawful possession of such weapons, devices, instruments or substances surrendered as herein provided.

 

     L.1978, c. 95, s. 2C:39-12, eff. Sept. 1, 1979.

 

Awesome!

 

I'm going to write the Superintendent a letter saying I plan to surrender my Glock and AAC silencer on January 1, 2027. And between now and then I will not expect to receive immunity from prosecution except for immunity from the unlawful possession while in New Jersey.

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At rallies and meetings, I have heard people comment that gun buybacks are illegal.  At first I thought yes, since 2C:39-6 provided no exemptions for travel to a LPD or parking lot to surrender firearms.  But after researching, I think that if the buyback LPD provides a "sign in sheet" at the door, this could qualify for written notice.  2C:39-12 states that if a person possesses firearms and gives "written notice" of the intention to surrender them, no offense is committed by that person. 

 

Read for yourself below.  Anyone disagree with me? 

 

 

2C:39-12.  Voluntary surrender

    No person shall be convicted of an offense under this chapter for possessing  any firearms, weapons, destructive devices, silencers or explosives, if after giving written notice of his intention to do so, including the proposed date  and time of surrender, he voluntarily surrendered the weapon, device,  instrument or substance in question to the superintendent or to the chief of  police in the municipality in which he resides, provided that the required  notice is received by the superintendent or chief of police before any charges  have been made or complaints filed against such person for the unlawful  possession of the weapon, device, instrument or substance in question and  before any investigation has been commenced by any law enforcement agency  concerning the unlawful possession.  Nothing in this section shall be construed  as granting immunity from prosecution for any crime or offense except that of the unlawful possession of such weapons, devices, instruments or substances surrendered as herein provided.

 

     L.1978, c. 95, s. 2C:39-12, eff. Sept. 1, 1979.

 

Well, the way I read it, the only "safe" way to do it is to provide notice beforehand, not at the site. Also, no immunity if you are caught before they have received the notice. So, if you are standing in line outside said collection event, waiting to give your written notice, you are screwed. All they have to do is come outside and announce that everyone in line is being investigated, and is under suspicion of illegally possessing a firearm. Bam. investigation has commenced before notice received, thereby eliminating your "get out of jail free" card.

 

VERY sneaky, but not unexpected. Of course that assumes they did it on purpose, and not just another half-assed law that none of them read before signing....

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Awesome!

 

I'm going to write the Superintendent a letter saying I plan to surrender my Glock and AAC silencer on January 1, 2027. And between now and then I will not expect to receive immunity from prosecution except for immunity from the unlawful possession while in New Jersey.

Hmmm, interesting. You may actually be able to get away with that, based on the letter of the law. However, you only get immunity from the "illegal possession" charge. I'm sure they would find something else to charge you with, that isn't covered. For instance, you would need an NFA tax stamp for your suppressor, in order to not violate Federal laws. However, I doubt the ATF will give you one in NJ, so there's that.....

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Hmmm, interesting. You may actually be able to get away with that, based on the letter of the law. However, you only get immunity from the "illegal possession" charge. I'm sure they would find something else to charge you with, that isn't covered. For instance, you would need an NFA tax stamp for your suppressor, in order to not violate Federal laws. However, I doubt the ATF will give you one in NJ, so there's that.....

 

 

I have a tax stamp. And suppressors can cross state lines without prior ATF notification, unlike the majority of NFA. Federal law does not prohibit my possession anywhere due to state laws. They simply won't issue stamps to states where they are known to be illegal.

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Technically, you may be correct.  I have never been to a buyback, but I would love to go there to purchase lots of cheap firearms if that is legal to do.  Hence my research into the laws about them. 

That came up in another thread, and nobody addressed the questions I asked. Obviously, the police and whatever agency are running it are not going to be happy about someone doing that at THEIR buyback, so I imagine you'd need to be 100% certain they can;t get you on something.

 

1.) Is it an illegal transfer for you to handle a firearm belonging to someone else; while examining it prior to purchase? While it may not be at a range, what about on a public street outside the buyback location? Where is line between possessing/carrying/ "BRANDISHING"? If you even come close to "shouldering" a long gun, or pointing the muzzle near anything but the ground, will "they" be ready to pounce on you?

 

2.) I would guess that handguns would be limited to one per person, assuming you had a permit already. Since you have no idea what is there, or what you'd be buying, getting an exemption beforehand would be impossible. Even more importantly, since this is not happening at a range, can you even touch or hold a handgun in public? The "sellers" are given an exemption because of why they are there. I doubt the police on hand would grant the same "courtesy" to someone buying handguns off the buyback line.

 

3.) Will YOU be charged if you inadvertently purchase, or even handle, an illegal firearm, say a full auto AK, which you didn't know was full-auto until you held it and inspected it? Keep in mind, common sense and reasonableness may not be the order of the day here. "They" may be watching, even stalking the buyers, waiting for that single moment you do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, even accidentally or briefly. I imagine you would also be precluded from purchasing anything that, in its current state, would be illegal, such as a semi-auto with a pistol grip AND an unpinned stock and/or threaded barrel,etc... Normally, you would just have it sent an FFL, have the "bad" stuff fixed, and be on your way. No way to do that here. I doubt people will be bringing S/A stuff that has already been made to be NJ legal. If they know enough to have it done, and paid the money to do so, they are probably smart enough not to bring it to a buyback.

 

4.) I think its safe to assume that the people "selling" these guns will not be savvy, as to the laws/requirements for legal sales. Will they cooperate with things such as COE's and filling in the sellers portion of the P2P for handguns? After all, the whole premise of the buyback, for them anyway, is the chance to get rid of the guns "no questions asked". Further, some of them are bound to be some very bad people; including violent criminals. You may not always be able to tell who they are. Do you want THEM having your name/address,etc...? They may just use that to come steal "their" gun back later. Even if they are not "bad guys", many may be paranoid "antis". Is it a good idea to hand them your name/address, and tell them you have guns? You never know who might be on the line. If one of the "Moronic Moms" inherited a firearm recently, maybe they decide to "dispose" of it at one of these events. Accidentally approaching one of them could get ugly real fast.

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I have a nomenclature objection. 'Buyback' is a nonsense term that would only make sense if the gun was initially owned by the government in the first place and thus subject to being reacquired by the government. These guns were never owned by the government in the first place. The government never had any ownership interest in these guns in the first place. They were made by private enterprise fir sale to the public. Using this term perpetuates the nonsense notion that firearms are or should always be subject to givernment control.

 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

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Mipafox: Good one! Love your insight into this loophole! Really! Wouldn't it be a gas to try it?

 

On second thought, NJ law also says explicitly that there will be no changes to election ballots within 30 days prior to an election. And NJ and the state Supreme Court saw fit to ignore that and do what they wanted. That's how we wound up with Lautenmummy. Again.

 

So I for one won't be trying this one out. If anyone else does be sure and post the results.

 

From prison if necessary.

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Here's the problem with buybacks:

 

They are anonymous. How can you give written notice anonymously?

They use churches and other places as collection points. How can one legally transport a firearm to a church to turn it in? 

 

Here's what Nappen says:

 

http://www.evannappen.com/5000-reward---church-gun-buyback-legal.html

 

What I believe is that the authorities know the law is being broken but they simply refuse to charge/prosecute under "discretion" because surrendering firearms is "for the common good." 

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