The states of Massachusetts and New Jersey have taken it upon themselves to make felons out of their law abiding gun owners and infringe on your rights!
As reported on the DailyWire New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ended his last day in office on Tuesday by signing a new law banning bump-fire stocks and ordering their confiscation under threat of heavy fines and imprisonment.
The former Republican presidential contender offered no words of explanation for ordering the ban of a common firearm attachment, the Free Beacon reports.
The bump-fire stock is an accessory that allows a firearms enthusiast to use a rapid fire technique. The legislation cites the Las Vegas mass shooting as the primary reason for the ban. The document states, “On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on an outdoor venue in Las Vegas, Nevada killing 59 people and injuring at least 530 people in the deadliest mass shooting in the United States’ modern history. According to recent news reports, the rifles found in the gunman’s hotel room were modified with a bump stock.”
Gun owners were given 90 days to surrender their bump-fire stocks while licensed firearm manufacturers and retailers were only given 30 days to turn over their inventory to law enforcement. The law threatens the state’s citizens with a fine of up to $15,000 or up to 3 years in prison for refusing to cooperate.
Gun control advocates celebrated the decision. The Michael Bloomberg funded group, Moms Demand Action, said in a statement, “We are so grateful that our lawmakers have prioritized public safety by passing this piece of common-sense legislation. Senate Bill 3477 is an important step toward keeping accessories like bump stocks out of the hands of dangerous individuals who seek to carry out large, senseless acts of gun violence.”
Gun rights activists took to Twitter to express their distaste for the new law.
Chris Christie began his career as a popular, tough-talking New Jersey governor who was widely considered to be a GOP presidential contender, but has since become one of the state’s least popular leaders, with both Democrats and Republicans turning on him in increasing… (read more)
Additionally New Jersey isnt the only state act on a knee jerk reaction Massachusetts recently added definitions of “bump stocks” and “trigger cranks” to state law, directing a ban on both set for later this year. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Officials with the Commonwealth reached out to Massachusetts gun owners to caution them the clock is ticking to hand over any bump stocks or trigger cranks.
According to a statement by the Gun Owners’ Action League, the state’s National Rifle Association affiliate, letters have been going out from state regulators to licensed gun owners warning that the controversial devices are illegal after Feb. 1. The letter adds that those who have them will have a short time period to arrange for their surrender.
“Retention of such a prohibited item beyond the 90 day grace period will expose the owner to criminal prosecution,” says Daniel Bennett, secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety.
Under the new state law passed as part of a spending bill, those found guilty of possession of such devices could face anywhere from 18 months to life in prison and there is no provision to grandfather the accessories.
“In our opinion this is an illegal and unconstitutional taking of property without compensation by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” says GOAL in a statement, advising they are weighing their options moving forward.
The state was the first to adopt a ban on the devices following their use in the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest festival shooting that left 58 dead. Filling in for Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito signed the measure into law just a day after the Commonwealth’s legislature forwarded the proposal to the governor’s office for consideration. Lawmakers rushed widely different bills through their respective chambers in October, only holding a token public hearing after the fact.
Under the ban’s framework, a bump stock is defined as a device that increases a gun’s rate of fire by using the recoil of the firearm “to generate a reciprocating action that facilitates repeated activation of the trigger.” Trigger cranks are classified as a device attached to a firearm that activates the trigger using a lever turned “in a circular motion,” with limited exceptions for guns such as Gatling guns which are specifically designed to use such a crank.
During the bill’s legislative process, state Attorney General Maura Healey led a call from 33 state and territorial attorneys general to Congress to ban the devices.
The state is not alone in its regulatory expansion targeting bump stocks. Down the Eastern Seaboard in New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie signed a ban in that state earlier this week which went into effect immediately. Bump stock owners in the Garden State have 90 days to surrender their once unregulated accessories…