If I own a Shore house in New Jersey, can I keep my Pennsylvania gun in it for my personal protection.

Our criminal defense lawyers always want to provide you with the most up to date information about changes to the laws in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

We firmly believe that an educated client is in the best position to achieve a good result in a criminal case.  While it our hope you and your family won’t need our services, we are ready to stand with you! 

Can I keep my Pennsylvania gun at my New Jersey Shore House? 

One of the most common questions that we receive is from Pennsylvania residents who own a gun in Pennsylvania  but also own a Summer residence at the New Jersey Shore.  This law here recently changed. Taking your out of state gun to your New Jersey Shore house is now more complicated.   

New Jersey Governor Murphy has signed changes to State’s already tough gun control laws.  Murphy signed seven (7) comprehensive gun safety bills, six (6) of which were part of his original gun safety 3.0 package.  While these new measures don’t make any adjustments to State’s mandatory minimum sentences (Graves Act,) they do make it more difficult for a person to purchase and possess a gun in New Jersey than in a state such as Pennsylvania. 

One of the biggest changes pertains to firearm owners who are dual New Jersey residents.  These persons must now obtain firearm purchaser identification cards and register hand gun acquired out of state.  Prior to this change, such a person did not need to do anything if he or she brought his or her out of state gun into New Jersey and kept it in their Summer residence provided that it was transported the gun legally into the Sate. 

Who is considered a “dual resident” in New Jersey? 

Prior to the change, a dual resident only needed to go through this registration process if they wanted to buy a gun in New Jersey.   To be considered a dual resident, a person needs to show proof of residency here in New Jersey.  Proof of residency can be established with a valid government issued identification showing your New Jersey residence or a government issued tax record or government issued utility bill (i.e. water bill from the town). 

How is New Jersey different than Pennsylvania when it comes to buying or selling a handgun?

In State of New Jersey (aka “The Garden State”) the law is much different. It’s illegal to sell, give, transfer, or acquire any type of firearm, including a rifle or a shotgun, unless the buyer possesses a valid firearms purchase identification card and the seller signs a written certification identifying the purchaser. Unlike Pennsylvania, New Jersey requires a license to own a firearm of any type including antique firearms.

It is also illegal in New Jersey to even possess a firearm outside of the home without a permit to carry and the law doesn’t make distinction between open or concealed carry. Pennsylvania doesn’t require a permit to purchase nor does it require a license to own a firearm including handguns. Like New Jersey, however, Pennsylvania requires a permit to carry a hand gun outside of your home or business.

How to legally transport a gun through New Jersey

 If you are transporting a handgun, shotgun, or rifle through New Jersey, it needs to be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gun box, securely tight package, or locked in the trunk of an automobile in which it is being transported. This matter of transporting the weapon also applies to situations where a person is traveling through the Garden State with a weapon from a different state where that person maintains or has the proper authority to carry the weapon.

If you’re traveling through the Garden State, the firearm and the ammunition must be locked in a container other than the vehicle’s glove compartment or console. The firearm must be unloaded and neither it, nor the ammunition, that is being transported can be readily or directly accessible from the passenger compartment of the transporting car or vehicle.

Contact Our Criminal Defense Lawyers in PA & NJ

Please click here to contact our Philadelphia criminal defense lawyers. We offer free case reviews and serve the following areas in Pennsylvania and New Jersey,  Atlantic City, Camden, Cherry Hill, Chester, Conshohocken, Doylestown, Media, Norristown, Philadelphia, Pottstown, Salem, Upper Darby, Upper Merion, Upper Providence, Vineland & Woodbury areas.