Can a Purchase and Own a Non-Firing Replica Gun That I Bought on the Internet?
Full Question:
Answer:
Weapons laws vary by state. For example, in New Jersey, a carry permit is required for an antique handgun. A replica that is not an antique would probably fall under the definition of "Imitation firearm", which is defined as an object or device reasonably capable of being mistaken for a firearm. It would not be classified as a weapon or firearm under NJ law and wouldn't be a prohibited weapon to purchase or own. In NJ, “Antique handgun” is defined as a handgun manufactured before 1898, or a replica thereof, which is recognized as being historical in nature or of historical significance and either utilizes a match, friction, flint, or percussion ignition, or a pin-fire cartridge in which the pin is part of the cartridge; or does not fire fixed ammunition or for which cartridge ammunition is not commercially available.
It is unlawful to sell, give, transfer, assign, or otherwise dispose of or receive, purchase, or otherwise acquire a rifle or shotgun, other than an antique rifle or shotgun, unless the purchaser, assignee, donee, receiver, or holder is licensed as a dealer under New Jersey law or possesses a valid Firearms Purchasers Identification Card (FID), and first exhibits the FID to the seller, donor, transferrer, or assignor, and the purchaser, assignee, donee, receiver, or holder signs a written certification form that identifies the purchaser, his or her address and FID or dealer’s number, and states he or she presently is not disqualified from purchase.
If you wish to research the requirments for other states, please see also:
http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/Federal/Read.aspx?id=74
http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/#?st=NJ
Please see the following NJ statutes:
2C:39-3. Prohibited weapons and devices
a. Destructive devices. Any person who knowingly has in his possession
any destructive device is guilty of a crime of the third degree.
b. Sawed-off shotguns. Any person who knowingly has in his possession
any sawed-off shotgun is guilty of a crime of the third degree.
c. Silencers. Any person who knowingly has in his possession any
firearm silencer is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
d. Defaced firearms. Any person who knowingly has in his possession any
firearm which has been defaced, except an antique firearm or an antique
handgun, is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
e. Certain weapons. Any person who knowingly has in his possession any
gravity knife, switchblade knife, dagger, dirk, stiletto, billy,
blackjack, metal knuckle, sandclub, slingshot, cestus or similar leather
band studded with metal filings or razor blades imbedded in wood,
ballistic knife, without any explainable lawful purpose, is guilty of a
crime of the fourth degree.
f. Dum-dum or body armor penetrating bullets. (1) Any person, other
than a law enforcement officer or persons engaged in activities pursuant
to subsection f. of N.J.S. 2C:39-6, who knowingly has in his possession
any hollow nose or dum-dum bullet, or (2) any person, other than a
collector of firearms or ammunition as curios or relics as defined in
Title 18, United States Code, section 921(a)(13) and has in his
possession a valid Collector of Curios and Relics License issued by the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, who knowingly has in his
possession any body armor breaching or penetrating ammunition, which
means: (a) ammunition primarily designed for use in a handgun, and (b)
which is comprised of a bullet whose core or jacket, if the jacket is
thicker than.025 of an inch, is made of tungsten carbide, or hard
bronze, or other material which is harder than a rating of 72 or greater
on the Rockwell B. Hardness Scale, and (c) is therefore capable of
breaching or penetrating body armor, is guilty of a crime of the fourth
degree. For purposes of this section, a collector may possess not more
than three examples of each distinctive variation of the ammunition
described above. A distinctive variation includes a different head
stamp, composition, design, or color.
g. Exceptions. (1) Nothing in subsection a., b., c., d., e., f., j. or
k. of this section shall apply to any member of the Armed Forces of the
United States or the National Guard, or except as otherwise provided, to
any law enforcement officer while actually on duty or traveling to or
from an authorized place of duty, provided that his possession of the
prohibited weapon or device has been duly authorized under the applicable
laws, regulations or military or law enforcement orders. Nothing in
subsection h. of this section shall apply to any law enforcement officer
who is exempted from the provisions of that subsection by the Attorney
General. Nothing in this section shall apply to the possession of any
weapon or device by a law enforcement officer who has confiscated, seized
or otherwise taken possession of said weapon or device as evidence of the
commission of a crime or because he believed it to be possessed illegally
by the person from whom it was taken, provided that said law enforcement
officer promptly notifies his superiors of his possession of such
prohibited weapon or device.
(2) a. Nothing in subsection f. (1) shall be construed to prevent a
person from keeping such ammunition at his dwelling, premises or other
land owned or possessed by him, or from carrying such ammunition from the
place of purchase to said dwelling or land, nor shall subsection f. (1) be
construed to prevent any licensed retail or wholesale firearms dealer
from possessing such ammunition at its licensed premises, provided that
the seller of any such ammunition shall maintain a record of the name,
age and place of residence of any purchaser who is not a licensed
dealer, together with the date of sale and quantity of ammunition sold.
b. Nothing in subsection f.(1) shall be construed to prevent a
designated employee or designated licensed agent for a nuclear power
plant under the license of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from
possessing hollow nose ammunition while in the actual performance of his
official duties, if the federal licensee certifies that the designated
employee or designated licensed agent is assigned to perform site
protection, guard, armed response or armed escort duties and is
appropriately trained and qualified, as prescribed by federal regulation,
to perform those duties.
(3) Nothing in paragraph (2) of subsection f. or in subsection j. shall
be construed to prevent any licensed retail or wholesale firearms dealer
from possessing that ammunition or large capacity ammunition magazine at
its licensed premises for sale or disposition to another licensed
dealer, the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard, or
to a law enforcement agency, provided that the seller maintains a record
of any sale or disposition to a law enforcement agency. The record shall
include the name of the purchasing agency, together with written
authorization of the chief of police or highest ranking official of the
agency, the name and rank of the purchasing law enforcement officer, if
applicable, and the date, time and amount of ammunition sold or otherwise
disposed. A copy of this record shall be forwarded by the seller to the
Superintendent of the Division of State Police within 48 hours of the
sale or disposition.
(4) Nothing in subsection a. of this section shall be construed to
apply to antique cannons as exempted in subsection d. of N.J.S. 2C:39-6.
(5) Nothing in subsection c. of this section shall be construed to
apply to any person who is specifically identified in a special deer
management permit issued by the Division of Fish and Wildlife to utilize
a firearm silencer as part of an alternative deer control method
implemented in accordance with a special deer management permit issued
pursuant to section 4 of P.L. 2000, c. 46 (C. 23:4-42.6), while the person
is in the actual performance of the permitted alternative deer control
method and while going to and from the place where the permitted
alternative deer control method is being utilized. This exception shall
not, however, otherwise apply to any person to authorize the purchase or
possession of a firearm silencer.
h. Stun guns. Any person who knowingly has in his possession any
stun gun is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
i. Nothing in subsection e. of this section shall be construed to
prevent any guard in the employ of a private security company, who is
licensed to carry a firearm, from the possession of a nightstick when in
the actual performance of his official duties, provided that he has
satisfactorily completed a training course approved by the Police
Training Commission in the use of a nightstick.
j. Any person who knowingly has in his possession a large capacity
ammunition magazine is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree unless the
person has registered an assault firearm pursuant to section 11 of P.L.
1990, c. 32 (C. 2C:58-12) and the magazine is maintained and used in
connection with participation in competitive shooting matches sanctioned
by the Director of Civilian Marksmanship of the United States Department
of the Army.
k. Handcuffs. Any person who knowingly has in his possession handcuffs
as defined in P.L. 1991, c. 437 (C. 2C:39-9.2), under circumstances not
manifestly appropriate for such lawful uses as handcuffs may have, is
guilty of a disorderly persons offense. A law enforcement officer shall
confiscate handcuffs possessed in violation of the law.
2C:39-1 Definitions.
1. Definitions. The following definitions apply to this chapter and to
chapter 58:
a. "Antique firearm" means any rifle or shotgun and "antique cannon"
means a destructive device defined in paragraph (3) of subsection c. of
this section, if the rifle, shotgun or destructive device, as the case
may be, is incapable of being fired or discharged, or which does not fire
fixed ammunition, regardless of date of manufacture, or was manufactured
before 1898 for which cartridge ammunition is not commercially
available, and is possessed as a curiosity or ornament or for its
historical significance or value.
b. "Deface" means to remove, deface, cover, alter or destroy the
name of the maker, model designation, manufacturer's serial number
or any other distinguishing identification mark or number on any
firearm.
c. "Destructive device" means any device, instrument or object designed
to explode or produce uncontrolled combustion, including (1) any
explosive or incendiary bomb, mine or grenade; (2) any rocket having a
propellant charge of more than four ounces or any missile having an
explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter of an ounce; (3)
any weapon capable of firing a projectile of a caliber greater than 60
caliber, except a shotgun or shotgun ammunition generally recognized as
suitable for sporting purposes; (4) any Molotov cocktail or other device
consisting of a breakable container containing flammable liquid and
having a wick or similar device capable of being ignited. The term does
not include any device manufactured for the purpose of illumination,
distress signaling, line-throwing, safety or similar purposes.
d. "Dispose of" means to give, give away, lease, loan, keep for
sale, offer, offer for sale, sell, transfer, or otherwise transfer
possession.
e. "Explosive" means any chemical compound or mixture that is commonly
used or is possessed for the purpose of producing an explosion and which
contains any oxidizing and combustible materials or other ingredients in
such proportions, quantities or packing that an ignition by fire, by
friction, by concussion or by detonation of any part of the compound or
mixture may cause such a sudden generation of highly heated gases that
the resultant gaseous pressures are capable of producing destructive
effects on contiguous objects. The term shall not include small arms
ammunition, or explosives in the form prescribed by the official United
States Pharmacopoeia.
f. "Firearm" means any handgun, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, automatic
or semi-automatic rifle, or any gun, device or instrument in the nature
of a weapon from which may be fired or ejected any solid projectable
ball, slug, pellet, missile or bullet, or any gas, vapor or other noxious
thing, by means of a cartridge or shell or by the action of an explosive
or the igniting of flammable or explosive substances. It shall also
include, without limitation, any firearm which is in the nature of an air
gun, spring gun or pistol or other weapon of a similar nature in which
the propelling force is a spring, elastic band, carbon dioxide,
compressed or other gas or vapor, air or compressed air, or is ignited by
compressed air, and ejecting a bullet or missile smaller than
three-eighths of an inch in diameter, with sufficient force to injure a
person.
g. "Firearm silencer" means any instrument, attachment, weapon or
appliance for causing the firing of any gun, revolver, pistol or other
firearm to be silent, or intended to lessen or muffle the noise of the
firing of any gun, revolver, pistol or other firearm.
h. "Gravity knife" means any knife which has a blade which is released
from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the
application of centrifugal force.
I. "Machine gun" means any firearm, mechanism or instrument not
requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot and having a
reservoir, belt or other means of storing and carrying ammunition
which can be loaded into the firearm, mechanism or instrument and
fired therefrom.
j. "Manufacturer" means any person who receives or obtains raw
materials or parts and processes them into firearms or finished parts of
firearms, except a person who exclusively processes grips, stocks and
other nonmetal parts of firearms. The term does not include a person who
repairs existing firearms or receives new and used raw materials or
parts solely for the repair of existing firearms.
k. "Handgun" means any pistol, revolver or other firearm originally
designed or manufactured to be fired by the use of a single hand.
l. "Retail dealer" means any person including a gunsmith, except a
manufacturer or a wholesale dealer, who sells, transfers or assigns for a
fee or profit any firearm or parts of firearms or ammunition which he has
purchased or obtained with the intention, or for the purpose, of reselling
or reassigning to persons who are reasonably understood to be the
ultimate consumers, and includes any person who is engaged in the
business of repairing firearms or who sells any firearm to satisfy a debt
secured by the pledge of a firearm.
m. "Rifle" means any firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder and
using the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire a
single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the
trigger.
n. "Shotgun" means any firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder
and using the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire
through a smooth bore either a number of ball shots or a single
projectile for each pull of the trigger, or any firearm designed to be
fired from the shoulder which does not fire fixed ammunition.
o. "Sawed-off shotgun" means any shotgun having a barrel or barrels of
less than 18 inches in length measured from the breech to the muzzle, or
a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length
measured from the breech to the muzzle, or any firearm made from a rifle
or a shotgun, whether by alteration, or otherwise, if such firearm as
modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches.
p. "Switchblade knife" means any knife or similar device which
has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to
a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife.
q. "Superintendent" means the Superintendent of the State Police.
r. "Weapon" means anything readily capable of lethal use or of
inflicting serious bodily injury. The term includes, but is not limited
to, all (1) firearms, even though not loaded or lacking a clip or other
component to render them immediately operable; (2) components which can
be readily assembled into a weapon; (3) gravity knives, switchblade
knives, daggers, dirks, stilettos, or other dangerous knives, billies,
blackjacks, bludgeons, metal knuckles, sandclubs, slingshots, cesti or
similar leather bands studded with metal filings or razor blades imbedded
in wood; and (4) stun guns; and any weapon or other device which
projects, releases, or emits tear gas or any other substance intended to
produce temporary physical discomfort or permanent injury through being
vaporized or otherwise dispensed in the air.
s. "Wholesale dealer" means any person, except a manufacturer, who
sells, transfers, or assigns firearms, or parts of firearms, to persons
who are reasonably understood not to be the ultimate consumers, and
includes persons who receive finished parts of firearms and assemble them
into completed or partially completed firearms, in furtherance of such
purpose, except that it shall not include those persons dealing
exclusively in grips, stocks and other nonmetal parts of firearms.
t. "Stun gun" means any weapon or other device which emits an
electrical charge or current intended to temporarily or permanently
disable a person.
u. "Ballistic knife" means any weapon or other device capable of
lethal use and which can propel a knife blade.
v. "Imitation firearm" means an object or device reasonably capable of
being mistaken for a firearm.
w. "Assault firearm" means:
(1) The following firearms:
Algimec AGM1 type
Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder such as the "Street Sweeper" or
"Striker 12"
Armalite AR-180 type
Australian Automatic Arms SAR
Avtomat Kalashnikov type semi-automatic firearms
Beretta AR-70 and BM59 semi-automatic firearms
Bushmaster Assault Rifle
Calico M-900 Assault carbine and M-900
CETME G3
Chartered Industries of Singapore SR-88 type
Colt AR-15 and CAR-15 series
Daewoo K-1, K-2, Max 1 and Max 2, AR 100 types
Demro TAC-1 carbine type
Encom MP-9 and MP-45 carbine types
FAMAS MAS223 types
FN-FAL, FN-LAR, or FN-FNC type semi-automatic firearms
Franchi SPAS 12 and LAW 12 shotguns
G3SA type
Galil type Heckler and Koch HK91, HK93, HK94, MP5, PSG-1
Intratec TEC 9 and 22 semi-automatic firearms
M1 carbine type
M14S type
MAC 10, MAC 11, MAC 11-9mm carbine type firearms
PJK M-68 carbine type
Plainfield Machine Company Carbine
Ruger K-Mini-14/5F and Mini-14/5RF
SIG AMT, SIG 550SP, SIG 551SP, SIG PE-57 types
SKS with detachable magazine type
Spectre Auto carbine type
Springfield Armory BM59 and SAR-48 type
Sterling MK-6, MK-7 and SAR types
Steyr A.U.G. semi-automatic firearms
USAS 12 semi-automatic type shotgun
Uzi type semi-automatic firearms
Valmet M62, M71S, M76, or M78 type semi-automatic firearms
Weaver Arm Nighthawk.
(2) Any firearm manufactured under any designation which is
substantially identical to any of the firearms listed above.
(3) A semi-automatic shotgun with either a magazine capacity exceeding
six rounds, a pistol grip, or a folding stock.
(4) A semi-automatic rifle with a fixed magazine capacity exceeding 15
rounds.
(5) A part or combination of parts designed or intended to convert a
firearm into an assault firearm, or any combination of parts from which
an assault firearm may be readily assembled if those parts are in the
possession or under the control of the same person.
x. "Semi-automatic" means a firearm which fires a single projectile for
each single pull of the trigger and is self-reloading or automatically
chambers a round, cartridge, or bullet.
y. "Large capacity ammunition magazine" means a box, drum, tube
or other container which is capable of holding more than 15 rounds
of ammunition to be fed continuously and directly therefrom into a
semi-automatic firearm.
z. "Pistol grip" means a well-defined handle, similar to that found on
a handgun, that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the
weapon, and which permits the shotgun to be held and fired with one
hand.
aa. "Antique handgun" means a handgun manufactured before 1898, or a
replica thereof, which is recognized as being historical in nature or of
historical significance and either (1) utilizes a match, friction,
flint, or percussion ignition, or which utilizes a pin-fire cartridge in
which the pin is part of the cartridge or (2) does not fire fixed
ammunition or for which cartridge ammunition is not commercially
available.
bb. "Trigger lock" means a commercially available device approved by
the Superintendent of State Police which is operated with a key or
combination lock that prevents a firearm from being discharged while the
device is attached to the firearm. It may include, but need not be
limited to, devices that obstruct the barrel or cylinder of the firearm,
as well as devices that immobilize the trigger.
cc. "Trigger locking device" means a device that, if installed on a
firearm and secured by means of a key or mechanically, electronically or
electromechanically operated combination lock, prevents the firearm from
being discharged without first deactivating or removing the device by
means of a key or mechanically, electronically or electromechanically
operated combination lock.
dd. "Personalized handgun" means a handgun which incorporates within
its design, and as part of its original manufacture, technology which
automatically limits its operational use and which cannot be readily
deactivated, so that it may only be fired by an authorized or recognized
user. The technology limiting the handgun's operational use may include,
but not be limited to: radio frequency tagging, touch memory, remote
control, fingerprint, magnetic encoding and other automatic user
identification systems utilizing biometric, mechanical or electronic
systems. No make or model of a handgun shall be deemed to be a
"personalized handgun" unless the Attorney General has determined, through
testing or other reasonable means, that the handgun meets any reliability
standards that the manufacturer may require for its commercially
available handguns that are not personalized or, if the manufacturer has
no such reliability standards, the handgun meets the reliability
standards generally used in the industry for commercially available
handguns.
