NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt called on Governor Phil Murphy to “stop harassing law-abiding citizens simply for owning a firearm.” The Chairman’s press release follows:

Trenton, NJ - NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt is standing up for Second Amendment supporters and legal gun owners. He wants Governor Phil Murphy to stop harassing law-abiding citizens simply for owning a firearm.

"The harassment of legal firearms owners by our government must end. Governor Murphy's political desire to appease the anti-gun lobby can’t come at the expense and from the pockets of law-abiding New Jerseyans who are simply exercising their Second Amendment right to own a firearm," said NJGOP Chairman Steinhardt. "That it should cost half as much for the privilege of obtaining a driver’s license as it does to exercise a constitutional right, is wrong. Taxes and fees should have a rational nexus to a legitimate government purpose, and not just be used to fund a basket of liberal, government giveaways."

According to a report from NJ 101.5, gun fees would increase from $5 to $100 for a firearms purchaser identification card and from no charge to $50 for a duplicate ID card; from $2 to $50 for a permit to purchase; from $20 to $400 for applications or renewals of gun-carry permits; and from $15 to $45 for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System review for firearms purchases.

Applications for wholesale or retail dealer employee licenses would go from $5 to $40; applications for retail firearms dealer licenses would go from $50 to $500; and applications for manufacturers or wholesale dealers of firearms would go from $150 to $1,500.

In total this would amount to a $9 million dollar tax on lawful gun owners. The fee for a driver's license in New Jersey is $24.

The NJGOP petition to stop the gun tax can be found here: https://www.njgop.org/petition/stop-punishing-legal-gun-owners/

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