12/23/23 – Exception to the CCARE Protocol – Pregnant/Breastfeeding Women

Certain Temporary Exemptions to CCARE Requirements

The State has received inquiries regarding pregnant and breastfeeding individuals and the ability to safely complete the CCARE protocol.

Issuing agencies shall grant temporary accommodations for these individuals, if they have previously successfully completed a live-fire range test and otherwise satisfy the requirements of N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4, but are temporarily unable to complete an updated live-firing test at a firearms range without risk to their own health or the health of their fetus or child. To request such an accommodation, such individuals shall submit a written attestation from their treating physician to the issuing agency as to the following (all four components are required):

1) Identifying the individual’s temporary medical status or condition, and stating that participating in a live-firing test at a firearms range would pose a risk to the individual’s own health or the health of their fetus or child;

2) Protective measures, such as but not limited to face masks, gloves, and noise-cancelling headphones, and/or choosing to complete the test at an outdoor range facility, would not mitigate that risk;

3) The individual’s medical status or condition is not one that would prevent the individual from otherwise safely handling a firearm under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-3(c)(3); and

4) The expected duration of the temporary disability.

Such individuals must still also submit a certificate from a certified firearms instructor certifying that the individual has successfully completed the Use of Force Training for Private Citizen Concealed Carry. However, the instructor should indicate on the certification that the course-offire qualification was not completed due to temporary disability.

Existing Permit Holders: If the individual obtained a permit to carry prior to July 1, 2023 that is not scheduled to expire until after December 22, 2023, the individual must submit the foregoing prior to January 15, 2024. If properly submitted, the permit shall remain valid for the duration of the temporary disability, plus 30 days.

Renewals: If the individual is seeking to renew a permit-to-carry previously received, the individual must submit the foregoing along with their renewal application. If the individual otherwise satisfies the requirements of N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4, the agency shall issue a renewal permit, contingent on completion of the CCARE requirement within 30 days of the end of the temporary disability.

It is the individual’s duty to comply with the timelines ascribed here; failure to do so will render the permit invalid. If the medical status changes, the individual may submit updated requests for exemption.

Issuing agencies are advised to consult with all applicable laws, including but not limited to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq. and the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.

9/17/23 – CCARE Protocol Announcement

New NJ CCW:

The State of New Jersey has, once again, issued the New Training Requirements for Civilian Carry. Since the beginning, we have all been excited to finally get our right our in New Jersey. Our qualification, at Gun For Hire, has always been the minimum required with no additional or burdensome requirements. We believe it is already your constitutional right and you have enough hurdles to go through.

New CCARE Protocol Qualification Requirements:

No Single Hand! No Support Hand! No Kneeling! No Timed fire! No Retention Shooting!
This Civilian Carry Assessment and Range Evaluation (CCARE) protocol replaces the Permit to Carry Safe Handling and Proficiency Qualification protocol (HQC2-modified) issued on July 21, 2023. An individual who has satisfied the HQC2-modified protocol is deemed to have met the requirements of the CCARE protocol for purposes of complying with N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4(g)(2).

Who Needs To Re-qualify?:

If your original qualification does not follow the CCARE Protocol (per the 9/17/2023 released guidelines), you need to re-qualify. This includes EVERYONE from the start of our landmark carry victory in June 2022!

Gun For Hire Customers:
If you qualified at Gun For Hire on/after July 21, 2023, you do NOT need to re-qualify because we were running the updated qualification.

If you qualified at Gun For Hire June 2022 – July 20, 2023 and have not re-qualified (July 21st or later), you do need to re-qualify before the extended December 31st, 2023 deadline. This includes EVERYONE from the start of our landmark carry victory!

The good thing is, your re-qualification is good for 2 years from the date of your qualification!
This means when your carry permit is up for renewal, you will be able to submit this re-qualification with your renewal application. Think of it as you’re qualifying, for your renewal, in advance.

IMPORTANT: You MUST save your S.P.182 form. This form is valid for 2 years and you can use the same qualification form to renew your PTC upon your next renewal. You are responsible for your qualification sheet as Gun For Hire does not keep copies of training records. If you lose your sheet between qualifying and submitting for renewal you will need to requalify.

What Happens After 1/1/24?:

If you do not requalify and turn your new qualification into your PD by 1/1/24, your permit will be invalid. You can not carry in NJ with an invalid permit. You will need to requalify and reapply for your CCW permit. Please scroll up to Step 4 to sign up to qualify. 

We all knew this was in flux and we all stood to fight. Congratulations to all the Permit To Carry holders, who have shown the government our strength to persevere. Thank you to: Dan Schmutter, Scott Bach, ANJRPC, Evan Nappen, and “the tip of the spear” Anthony Colandro for always putting up the fight.

Additional reading:
– ANJRPC Alert:
– NJ State Memorandum
– Civilian Carry Assessment and Range Evaluation (CCARE)
– Updated Use of Force Interim Training For Private Citizen Concealed Carry

 Supplement to Directive #14-22 – Requests to Amend Permits to Carry

Clarification On Making Amendments To Judge Issued Permits

On December 22, 2022, Governor Murphy signed A-4769 into law (L. 2022, c. 131), amending a number of New Jersey firearms statutes in response to the United States Supreme Court’s decision in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022). The legislation, in part, removed the courts from the initial decision-making process for applications for permits to carry handguns. Directive # 14- 22 (“Criminal – Gun Permit Procedures”) was promulgated in conjunction with enactment of the new law to establish uniformity in the court’s handling of appeals from law enforcement’s denial of firearms purchaser identification cards, permits to purchase handguns, and permits to carry handguns. This Supplement to Directive # 14- 22 addresses the practice of the court amending permits to carry handguns and orders issuing permits to carry.

Effective immediately, courts will no longer issue amended carry permits or orders to issue amended carry permits other than to correct issuance errors ( e.g., typographical errors, misprints). As of December 22, 2022, law enforcement alone receives, investigates, and makes decisions on all new requests regarding permit to carry applications. To that end, applicants requesting to add one or more handguns to a permit to carry that previously was issued by the courts should be directed instead to apply for a new permit through their local police agency. Applicants requesting to remove any restriction from a permit previously issued by the courts may choose to appeal to a higher court.

Questions or comments may be directed to Criminal Practice Division by email to the AOC Criminal Practice Division at aoccrimprac.mbx@njcourts.gov or by phone 609-815-2900,x55300

This Just In! New Disqualifier For Owning Firearms In New Jersey

Under A796 There Is A New Disqualifer For Owning Firearms In New Jersey

Except as hereinafter provided, a person shall not be denied a permit to purchase a handgun or a firearms purchaser identification card, unless the person is known in the community in which the person lives as someone who has engaged in acts or made statements suggesting the person is likely to engage in conduct, other than justified self-defense, that would pose a danger to self or others, or is subject to any of the disabilities set forth in this section or other sections of this chapter. A handgun purchase permit or firearms purchaser identification card shall not be issued:
(13) To any person who has previously been voluntarily admitted to inpatient treatment pursuant to P.L.1987, c.116 (C.30:4-27.1 et seq.) or involuntarily committed to inpatient or outpatient treatment pursuant to P.L.1987, c.116 (C.30:4-27.1 et seq.), unless the court has expunged the person’s record pursuant to P.L.1953, c.268 (C.30:4-80.8 et seq.);

• Previously, ONLY involuntary commitments were a hard disqualifier.
• The State has now backloaded decades of mental health records into their NICS System, if someone has had a past VOLUNTARY commitment, but owns guns, DO NOT ASSUME it’s not an issue. Both Juvenile and Adult commitments/admissions apply,
• Should this apply to you, you ONLY have 5 days to surrender their FPIC (FID Card), as the law states: “A firearms purchaser identification card shall be void if the holder becomes subject to any of the disabilities set forth in subsection c. of this section, whereupon the card shall be returned within five days by the holder to the superintendent, who shall then advise the licensing authority.”
  
• Those falling into this trap are also getting into hot water over the fact, it’s now undeniably clear that they have lied on previous applications on these two questions which are on every NJ firearms application and the FARS system.
• Several people who have been caught by this new trap, either on FPIC Address Change, new P2P, or PTC application have been asked to turn in their firearms to their police department.
• If this applies to you, please contact an attorney ASAP and discuss your situation to ensure you navigate this properly, as it’s more than a mental health expungement.
• This NEW HARD disqualifier, is separate and distinct from the longstanding “subjective” catchall of “ (5) To any person where the issuance would not be in the interest of the public health, safety or welfare because the person is found to be lacking the essential character or temperament necessary to be entrusted with a firearm. 

Dealing with Permitting Abuse / Civil Malfeasance
WRITING A LETTER TO YOUR POLICE CHIEF

IMPORTANT: Before anything derails the process EVERYONE should have a manilla folder, and on the front be keeping copious notes of every step of the FPIC, PPP or PTC Application Process, including when each step was completed, when filed or received, and any discussions or other communications.  Hopefully, you won’t need it, but you have to plan ahead. Document everything.

First Always Start with the Licensing Division 

• When communicating with your PD, do it by email or certified mail so you have a paper trail if possible, Certified Mail while slower always screams something important or legal related.  If you do it via phone, keep detailed dates/times/who you spoke to.
• I always suggest OPENLY CC-ing Strikeforce@anjrpc.org on the initial complaint e-mail or letter about the unreasonable delay, as often the licensing officer just Googling “Strikeforce@anjrpc.org” gets him/her to act.
• Document all communications, after 7 days move on to the next step, as you gave them time to respond, but make sure you have facts to support a letter to the Chief.
• Here are the allowable processing times under the law:
  • FPIC:                                                 30 days for residents / 45 days for non-residents  per 2C:58-3
  • Permit to Purchase Handgun:     30 days per 2C:58-3
  • Permit to Carry:                              90 days, but Chief can request additional 30 days IN WRITING per  2C:58-4
• After a reasonable time has passed beyond the statutory allowance, and after you are getting nowhere with the permitting officer when trying to resolve the issue, it’s now time to write to the Chief and lay out the facts. This can be via e-mail or certified mail, even if via e-mail I always like to write a letter signed and attached via PDF.

Writing to your Chief  

• Not always, but very often, the best and brightest and overachieving cops are NOT the ones assigned to desk duty/firearms licensing.  However, you do not get to be made Chief unless you are the rising star of the Department, exceeded standards of policing, and got stuff done during the latter years of your career in a Captain role.  A big part of a Chief’s role is that of a politician, so they do take matters that come across their desk seriously. All 5 of the letters I helped write, got 100% resolution in less than 36 hours.
• Start the letter off with 3-4 sentences introducing yourself, how long you have lived in your town, you are a law-abiding citizen, make it personal,  and ask if they can spare 15 minutes of their time to listen to your frustrations with your FPIC, PPP or PTC Application, which is now X days well beyond the law.
• Next,  via bullet points lay out the timeline, the date you applied, the date your references replied, the date you tried to reach the licensing officer, and other times even if you called and got no answer, a callback or reply to an e-mail. Also, lay out any of the BS they might have told on why your application is delayed, they are busy, they don’t have paper, they need more guidance etc.
• In closing,  lay out the applicable statute on what the law says in terms how much time was allowed and how much has since passed since your application was filed, and while you are an understanding person, the delay is unreasonable, and how as a Police Department and City we can do better to serve all residents with due process. A Right Delayed is a Right Denied.  If the licensing officer gave the common excuse “We are really busy or understaffed, maybe cite this in the letter to the Chief and offer that you would be more than happy to go to the next City Council Meeting or Mayor’s Office and request additional resources allocated to the Police Licensing Department so they can better serve all residents………….No Chief is going to want you to do that.

Over Covid, and under the last Chief of Hoboken here was how I closed off my letter to the Chief after succinctly laying out all the facts.

Now if I could make an unfair and cynical comparison, if you look at a Hoboken City event like SantaCon where your department handles 20+ arrests in a shift, some needing supervised treatment at HUMC, then off to the station for booking, FREE DIGITAL fingerprinting,  report issuing, and transport to county jail – all of which is accomplished in a matter of hours. As an outsider, all I can see that is missing in that process are the velvet ropes, a VIP list, and a red carpet outside of Police HQ.  I commend all the hard work you and your officers do day in and day out to keep our city safe, but when it comes to firearms permits I feel as a city and department we can do better. I appreciate your time in listening to my frustration and hopefully we can find some ways to better serve all the residents of Hoboken with equal due process.  

What do you know, the next day my 3 pistol purchase permits were ready after 4 months of BS.

Hopefully this help others in getting a resolution, when nothing else seems to work, follow the process IT DOES WORK.

Additional Comments from Dan Schmutter, ANJRPC Attorney 

The Court also acknowledged the State’s concession that “school, college, university, or other educational institution” is to be read narrowly to apply to traditional schools such as are regulated by the State. Thus, the prohibition on carrying in schools does not apply to, for example, motorcycle classes, firearms training, Sunday school within a church, karate classes, and music lessons.

Further, the Court acknowledged the State’s concession that notwithstanding the very broad language used in the statute (“any part of the buildings, grounds, or parking area”) the scope of prohibition on multiuse property (strip malls, office buildings, churches with schools, etc.) is limited only to the actual prohibited use itself and not other uses and also does not include shared features such as shared parking lots, hallways, elevators, etc.

The next stage is our request for a preliminary injunction, which seeks to block the enforcement of the law all the way through the end of the case. We plan to aggressively seek to add more places to the list of restrictions we have successfully challenged.

If your permit was signed by a judge you are bound to the restrictions put in place by the judge. IE: If you have a court order, you still have to carry the court order around with your permit and firearm, if you have restricted firearms, you are limited to ONLY those firearms. By breaking the order you can be found in contempt, leading to loss of license and prosecution.

What Can I Do If I Want To Carry Any Of My Guns?

1.  You can contest the court and request a new PTC without the restrictions. It is not guaranteed that the courts will grant you a new PTC without restrictions. This will most likely require a lawyer and fees.
2. You can wait until yours expires, when you file for a renewal, the new permit will be unrestricted.

If your permit was signed by the PD, you can carry any firearm you own under the new law.
Gun For Hire and our Attorneys all recommend qualifying with any gun you want to carry. If you ever need to use your firearm and end up in court, your lawyer will thank you for showing qualification proficiency with that firearm.