State Gun Laws

Under New Jersey law, the judge must do all of the following in any restraining order issued after a hearing:

1. prohibit the abuser from purchasing, owning, having, or controlling a firearm;
2. prohibit the abuser from getting or keeping a firearms purchaser identification card or a permit to purchase a handgun; 
3. require that the abuser immediately surrender their firearms or other weapons, such as knives, to law enforcement.¹

The prohibitions listed in #1 and #2 will be in effect for whichever is longer:

• the length of the restraining order; or 
• two years.¹  

These prohibitions do not apply to an abuser who is a law enforcement officer while actually on duty, or to any member of the U.S. Armed Forces or the National Guard while actually on duty or traveling to or from an authorized place of duty.¹

In addition, federal laws, which apply to all states, restrict an abuser’s right to have a gun if you have a restraining order against them that meets certain requirements, even if the judge does not specifically include in the order that they cannot have a gun.  Go to our Federal Gun Laws page to get more information.

¹ N.J. Stat. § 2C:25-29(b)