State Gun Laws

In this section about gun laws, we discuss laws that ban people from having a gun if they were found guilty (convicted) of certain “crimes” or “indictable offenses.” This is because New Jersey does not use the more common terms “felony” and “misdemeanor” used by most states and the federal government.¹

Non-indictable offense

A “non-indictable offense,” which is also known as a “disorderly persons offense,” is a less serious offense. This is New Jersey’s equivalent of “misdemeanor.” A defendant charged with a non-indictable offense does not have the right to be indicted by a grand jury or to have their case tried in front of a jury.²

Indictable offense

An “indictable offense” means that the prosecutor has to get an “indictment” from a grand jury before charging someone with a crime.  This includes any offense under New Jersey law that has a penalty of more than six months in jail. It also includes any offense under the laws of any other state or territory for which the penalty is more than one year in jail. This is commonly known as a felony.³

Offenses called “high misdemeanors” in New Jersey law are left over from a prior version of the state’s criminal law. High misdemeanors are considered indictable offenses because the sentence is imprisonment for three to five years.⁴

However, you cannot always tell if someone was convicted of an indictable offense only by looking at how long they were in prison. Criminal sentences are often reduced or pled down, meaning a person may serve less time. If you don’t know what the abuser was convicted of, you might be able to:

• ask the prosecutor who handled the criminal case;
• go to the courthouse where they were convicted to see if you can search the record; or
• search online for public criminal records that might be available.

¹ State v. Doyle, 200 A.2d 606 (1964); State v. Edoo, 2013 WL 1875978 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. May 7, 2013)
² N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-4(b)
³ N.J. Stat. § 2C:1-4(a)
⁴ N.J. Stat. §§ 2C:43-1(b); 2C:43-6(a)(3)