frasu
04-27-2009, 09:53 AM
The state Supreme Court will tackle gun control today when it considers whether cities and towns may enact laws limiting the sale of firearms.
The justices will hear arguments on Jersey's City's attempt to limit handgun purchases to one per month. An appeals court last fall overturned the 2006 ordinance, saying the city had overstepped its bounds because state law already monitors those sales.
The lower court said municipal governments don't have the power "to act in the field of firearm regulation and control." New Jersey residents need a permit to buy handguns, but state law does not limit how many permits a person may request.
New York is the only city with a handgun purchase limit -- one every 90 days. The city also prohibits purchases of more than one rifle or shotgun every 90 days.
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said towns and cities should be allowed to set their own laws, adding that he and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to establish local laws that would be a "good start in the right direction at stanching the flow of illegal handguns."
The whole story here. (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/nj_supreme_court_justices_to_c.html)
The justices will hear arguments on Jersey's City's attempt to limit handgun purchases to one per month. An appeals court last fall overturned the 2006 ordinance, saying the city had overstepped its bounds because state law already monitors those sales.
The lower court said municipal governments don't have the power "to act in the field of firearm regulation and control." New Jersey residents need a permit to buy handguns, but state law does not limit how many permits a person may request.
New York is the only city with a handgun purchase limit -- one every 90 days. The city also prohibits purchases of more than one rifle or shotgun every 90 days.
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said towns and cities should be allowed to set their own laws, adding that he and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to establish local laws that would be a "good start in the right direction at stanching the flow of illegal handguns."
The whole story here. (http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/nj_supreme_court_justices_to_c.html)