Governor Murphy directs all state agencies to look for ways to prevent gun violence

Gov. Phil Murphy directed all state agencies to look for ways to prevent gun violence, including designating certain areas as gun-free, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision that expands the right to carry guns in public. “Because New Jersey has had strict limits on carrying firearms in public until this opinion, we have few places where the carrying of firearms is prohibited,” he said.

 Murphy said he is working with the Legislature to expand the number and types of places where guns cannot be carried. He said the list will include:

• Locations where there would be a high density of people, such as stadiums and arenas, amusement parks, bars and restaurants where alcohol is served and public transit.

• Locations with “inherently vulnerable populations” like daycare and child-care facilities, hospitals and other health-care centers, and long-term care facilities and nursing homes.

• Buildings where important governmental or First Amendment-protected activities take place, including government buildings, polling places, courthouses, police stations and sites of licensed demonstrations and protests.

• “This legislation should also set a default rule that firearms cannot be carried onto private property unless the property owner expressly communicates their permission, whether that’s a shopping mall or a supermarket or a private home or a house of worship. “That will protect homeowners and businesses who do not want firearms to proliferate in their homes and stores while fully respecting everyone’s private property rights,”.

Murphy said the state will also examine whether to expand the list of people categorically disqualified from carrying handguns, which now includes people with criminal convictions or subject to certain types of restraining orders. “The right-wing majority has made its decision. As tragic and misguided as it is, we must live with it.