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Bergen-Passaic Lawmaker Pushes Firearms Clearinghouse

A bill to establish a criminal firearms recovery clearinghouse in New Jersey was released by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee Thursday.

Assemblyman Gary Schaer

Assemblyman Gary Schaer

Photo Credit: Gary Schaer

Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-36th District) is a primary sponsor of the bill that would create and maintain a central repository of information regarding all firearms that have been seized, forfeited, found or otherwise obtained by law enforcement and possibly used in a crime.

“With this legislation, we will be better able to determine the source of any weapon associated with criminal activity and keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals,” said Schaer. “Once we know where the guns are coming from, we will be in a position to stem the flow of weapons flooding our communities.”

Schaer represents Carlstadt, Cliffside Park, East Rutherford, Little Ferry, Lyndhurst, Moonachie, North Arlington, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, Rutherford, South Hackensack, Teterboro, Wallington, and Wood-Ridge and the city of Passaic.

Other sponsors of the bill are Assembly members Raj Mukherji of Jersey City, Vincent Mazzeo, Angelica Jimenez and Benjie Wimberly

The bill (A-1648) directs the attorney general to The purpose of the program is to identify the origins of firearms used to commission crimes in New Jersey.

The bill also directs uniform procedures to be established for state and local law enforcement when recovering firearms, and to cooperate with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and law enforcement in other states. It directs cooperation between state and local police to document and trace recovered firearms and turn over the information to the cooperating agencies.

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