Alphecca

"possession of a weapon without a firearms ID"

There is no such requirement, unless some midnight law passed that I have not heard of, which is possible in this state.

There is a permit needed to *purchase*, but not to posses. He was charged with violating a non-existant law. But that is par for the course here. The police make up laws here all the time.

With all the craziness in NJ, you only need permits to purchase, not to posses. So if you legally own firearms, and move into the state with them, you are legal, provided the firearms comply with legal restrictions, like magazine capacity, the state AWB, etc.

But to transfer them into your possesion, either through commercial purchase, private sale, or inheritance, then you *do* need to get a Firearms Purchase ID, good for ALL long guns, and a separate permit for each handgun involved in the transfer.

And yes, air guns, co2 guns are all considered firearms in NJ.

Can't have short bbl shotguns in NJ. This is probably what they will stick him with. If he's lucky, they won't bring in BATFE NFA branch who would come down on him heavy for an unregistered NFA firearm, if that's the case. Jack

Here is a discussion from back in October:
http://www.njcsd.org/forum/showthread.php?t=84

resulting from:
http://wrightwing.net/2005/10/24/21/58/85

Jack, yah, if the barrel is too short, that is the offense, but the FID charge does not exist under NJ law. But as I said, people have been convicted of violating non-existant laws here before.

"I know that putting food on the table comes first but is it really worth it to live in a state that compromises your rights, constitutional or god-given, all for a job?"

In general, no.

But since I have a GED, no college degree, and only tech school certificates and hands on experience in IT, finding a job is tougher for me than mostm and I have a moral objection to welfare. The closest I have come to that is being on unemployment now, and I even avoided that for the past 30 years.

Much as I like VT, there ain't much IT there.
I have looked in NH, but not much up there either.

Since I am 47 and an out of shape desk jockey, I am not willing, or probably not even able, to go back to warehouse work or retail counter work.

I am softening my stance on PA though, since there is a lot of IT stuff around Philly, Pitts and Harrisburg.

Pa may be almost as expensive to live in as NJ, but the gun laws are a hell of a lot better.

Since I am trying to move my skill set off the mainframe to new technology, I may be able to move out soon, if I can get at least a solid year of experience under my belt in a new technology.

I believe that reader would be me, seeing as I was arrested when I was 18 for possession of a Crossman Pump BB gun though they never actually charged me with anything and just gave me a stern talking to (thank god for small town justice and a mom who plays tennis with the chief's wife)

TomWright - don't forget that NJ has a Voluntary Firearms Registration form. If you move to NJ with your guns, and don't fill out the form ... as much as I hate it, its probably smartest to do the paperwork.

Drew, but that is only 'voluntary' for transfers.

Every one who has ever been charge with possesion without the FID has had the charge withdrawn or dismissed. Guns owners and gun possesion for non-criminal purposes are so rare in NJ, compared to most states, that officials have a knee jerk response to assume that the most restrictive things they ever heard of automatically apply. They are usually right, except for the possesion laws.

When this happens, usually the cops/prosecutors trump up something else to cover their asses to try to avoid being sued for false arrest.

You *are* required by NJ state law to have an id card.

NJ 2C:58-3j. In NJ it is mislabeled as a Firearm Purchaser identification card. But it as nothing to do with purchasing as the indicated by the statue referenced, available at njleg.state.nj.us. Even if you inherit a gun, you have 180 days to get a card or sell your inheritance. And in NJ getting a card is a political process as the app goes through your local Chief of Police. Even IL (except Cook County) is a better place to live.