According to a NJ.Com article posted on August 5, 2019:
“The Garden State also ranks 45th among the 50 states in the number of per capita gun deaths per year, according the center. Only Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and Massachusetts have fewer.
New Jersey is known for its tough restrictions on firearms. New Jersey's most notable gun laws:
AGE LIMIT: No resident under the age of 18 can purchase, posses, fire, or use a firearm. No one under the age of 21 can purchase, possess, fire, or use a handgun, unless your job authorizes you to do so.
ID CARD: You need a firearm purchaser ID card to buy a rifle or shotgun and a separate permit from the local police chief or State Police superintendent to buy a handgun. You must answer in-depth questions, have multiple references, and pass background checks via the state Bureau of Identification and State Police to obtain those permits.
CRIMINAL HISTORY: You cannot buy a gun if you've been convicted of a crime — such as aggravated assault, arson, burglary, homicide, kidnapping, robbery, sexual assault, domestic violence — or a disorderly persons offense related to domestic violence. You also cannot buy a gun if you are on the terror watchlist, if you have ever been committed for a mental disorder, or if you have been convicted of the unlawful use, possession, or sale of a controlled dangerous substance.
HANDGUN RESTRICTIONS: Though current and former law enforcement officials are allowed to carry a handgun, most are not. You can apply for such a permit, but a judge has to approve it, and that's rare. You have to prove a “justifiable need" to carry a gun, which is defined as “urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by specific threats or previous attacks which demonstrate a special danger to the applicant's life that cannot be avoided by means other than by issuance of a permit to carry a handgun.” Murphy signed a law last year to more strictly define the guidelines, after Christie has moved to loosen them. Critics have long said it's too difficult to obtain a carry permit in the state.
AMMO: You must also have a firearm purchaser ID to buy handgun ammunition.
ASSAULT WEAPONS: Assault firearms are banned — and have been for nearly three decades. It was signed by former Gov. Jim Florio in May 1990.
MAGAZINES: Semiautomatic firearms are not allowed to use magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Murphy signed a law last year reducing the number from 15, after Christie had vetoed it.
BACKGROUND CHECKS: You must also pass a background check through a federally licensed gun dealer to have a gun privately transferred to you.
GUNS IN VEHICLES: You can transport a gun in your vehicle only if it's unloaded in a locked and fastened case and kept where it is not accessible to the driver or passengers — like the trunk. You are also only allowed to deviate from your trip for only “reasonable” circumstances.
BUMP STOCKS: “Bump stocks," a gun accessory that allows you to fire bullets more quickly, are banned. Christie signed that law on his final day in office.
GHOST GUNS: You are not allowed to create or possess “ghost guns," which are firearms that can be assembled with untraceable components at home. Murphy signed that law last year.
SMART GUNS: Gun dealers will soon be required to sell at least one “smart gun,” a personalized firearm that can be fired only by its owner.”
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