Politics & Government

Federal Gun Laws Should Mirror NJ's, Council Says

Discussion accompanied by a presentation on guns by Madison police officers.

Madison's governing body on Monday approved a resolution that it will send to federal and state legislators and other municipalities urging federal legislators to adopt federal gun laws that are similar to those in New Jersey, which is considered to have among the strictest gun laws in the U.S.

The "Resolution of the Borough of Madison in Support of Federal Legislation Adopting New Jersey's Strict Gun Laws" was passed unanimously as part of the consent agenda, and discussion on the topic was accompanied by a presentation by Madison police officers about various types of guns.

The resolution says more than 48,000 Americans will be murdered with guns during the next four years and Madison's elected officials are outraged at the statistics and support common sense reform.

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

New Jersey's gun laws regulating the sale, possession and use of firearms and ammunition are among the strictest gun control laws in the nation, prohibiting the possession of "assault firearms" and magazines that can hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition. Possession of automatic firearms is prohibited without a state license, the resolution says.

The council "urges our Federal legislators to adopt legislation similar to the the statutory framework of laws in effect in the State of New Jersey."

The councils resolves that "the Borough of Madison supports gun control reform legislation at the Federal level to mirror that of the gun restrictions in New Jersey" and "urges swift passage of these laws at the Federal level."

Copies of the resolution will be forwarded to Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, Congressman Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, Gov. Chris Christie, State Sen. Richard Codey, Assemblyman John McKeon and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey and to the New Jersey League of Municipalities.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here