In one of his final acts as the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie has signed a bill into law making it illegal to sell or possess bump stocks and trigger cranks.
According to NJ.com, Christie signed over 150 different bills during his final full day in office on Tuesday, one of which was S-3477/A-5200, a measure calling for the ban of the controversial devices in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting in early October.
The bill goes into effect immediately. As a result, anybody who owns a bump stock or trigger crank has 90 days—until April 15— to turn them into authorities. Retailers who sell them have 30 days to hand them over. If you fail to do so, you’re looking at a third-degree felony charge which is punishable by three to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.
In reality, bump stocks were already effectively prohibited under current New Jersey state law. As NJ.com points out, it was legal to own a bump stock but illegal to attach it to a firearm or be near a firearm. This measure is a total ban on the devices.
S-3477/A-5200 was passed in the Democratic-controlled New Jersey state Senate by a vote of 28-0, with 12 abstentions. The state Assembly passed it in a vote of 60-0.
New Jersey is the second state to ban bump stocks in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting which claimed the lives of 58 people and left hundreds injured. 12 of the rifles used by the shooter were outfitted with the devices. Massachusetts banned them in November.
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