Storing Guns Outside of the Home in NJ

NJ State Regulations and Options for Gun Storage Outside of the House

Safety is the main reason for gun owners to store their firearms outside their homes. Reasons range from young visitors staying at the house to a suicidal household member. Safety concerns are legitimate reasons for storing a gun away from home and in a legal storage facility in New Jersey. Responsible gun owners can use temporary storage to ensure everyone’s safety. Whether you are considering storing your firearms out-of-home and you need t0 understand your rights and options when it comes to temporary storage solutions, or you are seeking to remove firearms from a potentially dangerous individual, an attorney experienced in NJ gun laws at The Tormey Law Firm can be your trusted advisor. You will save yourself unnecessary trouble when you get proper advice before you deliver your gun to a storage facility or get experienced assistance with removing weapons from a possibly risky individual in your household who currently has them in their possession.

We serve gun owners with a wide range of firearms and weapons-related matters in Wayne, Clifton, Little Falls, Cranford, Bridgewater, Fort Lee, Parsippany, Hackensack, Bloomfield, Woodbridge, and other communities throughout New Jersey. If you have concerns about a gun case or are experiencing legal issues surrounding firearms and other weapons, do not hesitate to contact us for immediate assistance at (201)-614-2474. The consultation is free and available anytime to best serve your needs.

Useful Storage Solutions for Temporary Gun Removal in New Jersey

A homeowner may have several reasons for removing firearms from the home to another location. Concern for a teen who has threatened suicide is a compelling reason for wanting the household free of guns. Highly combative divorces may be another. Cautiously avoiding an accident or desperate act during a heated argument by removing guns from the home is a smart preventative move.

In fact, anyone in the household suffering mental health or substance issues may raise the alarm about guns in the house, but also young children staying over for a few days or other traffic during open houses may prompt a safety check about firearms in the house. And careful homeowners don’t leave town for a span without storing their guns elsewhere.

When gun owners wish to store their firearms temporarily, they may ask for recommendations from other gun owners or find a reputable map of approved locations online. The New Jersey Safe Storage Firearms Map lists businesses that store firearms temporarily. The map came about for that purpose.

A Guide to Safe Storage Locations in New Jersey

The New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and the Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services combined efforts to develop the map. The former is located at Rutgers University, whose director, Michael Anestis, of the Gun Violence Research Center, compares gun owners using the map to drunk people giving someone else their car keys. The analogy emphasizes the voluntariness and safety of the map’s use.

Many places on the map, like gun retailers, storage providers, shooting ranges, and police departments, offer storage options for a fee and possible background checks. The map indicates many municipalities that have storage facilities or are near one in a neighboring city or town. Many locations cover the oceanfront from Cape May to Atlantic City, but fewer further up north until Lakewood in Ocean County. Inland locations include Millville in Cumberland County and Voorhees Township in Camden County. There are a couple of others, one by Millstone in Somerset County and another by New Brunswick in Middlesex County. Also, there is Brookside FFL LLC in Morristown in Morris County, as well as RTSP in Union County, Louie GS Outdoors in Secaucus in Hudson County, and Dick’s Sporting Goods in Paramus in Bergen County.

A Look at Gun Storage Facilities and Their Services

The facilities are primarily sporting goods stores, armories, hunting stores, firing ranges, tactical training centers, antique shops, gunsmiths, and firearms storage centers. Whichever place you choose, knowing how each facility handles firearms storage is essential before bringing your gun. A call first may answer important questions like the cost, procedures, and time limits. The storage provider may want a potential customer to come for a background check first. They may warn the customer not to bring a loaded gun into the facility and to store all firearms legally in a vehicle, in other words, locked in the trunk or lockbox, or they may prefer to pick up the gun.

How to Legally Take Your Gun to a Storage Facility in NJ

You should know the laws about transporting firearms in your vehicle and the storage facility’s requirements. Carrying a gun in your car without properly securing it can lead to grave consequences should law enforcement stop you. New Jersey takes gun ownership and handling quite seriously. You could face a potential 18-month prison sentence for carrying your gun in a car illegally.

You can safely transport your weapon to a storage facility as long as you lock it away in the trunk or other container that is securely fastened and inaccessible to the driver, passengers, and ammunition. An attorney at The Tormey Law Firm can advise you on how to avoid an unlawful possession of a firearm charge by ensuring you have the required documents for possessing guns and helping you apply for a handgun carry permit if you want to carry your weapon. We can also explain how to legally transport your gun and defend you if you have been charged with illegal gun possession.

Voluntary vs. NJ Court-Ordered Gun Removal

Voluntarily storing a gun at one of these facilities is proactive, responsible gun ownership. On the other hand, the involuntary relinquishing of a gun is another story. The distinction between voluntary and involuntary gun removal from a person’s possession is one of who is protecting whom. A homeowner storing a gun to protect the household from potentially problematic situations is a wise prevention of a possible tragedy. In protective order situations, the courts assist those seeking to prevent a probable tragedy by having someone else’s guns removed. Gun owners who allegedly pose a threat to themselves or others may be subject to an Extreme Risk Protective Order (ERPO). A family member can petition a court for an order to remove guns from someone believed to pose an immediate threat by filing TERPO paperwork with the court in the county in which the subject individual resides or at their local police department.

The process is like obtaining a domestic violence restraining order by one who is a victim of and endangered by an abusive person with whom they are or were in an intimate relationship. Both protective orders require a showing of endangerment to warrant confiscating someone’s firearms. A restraining order requires the defendant to turn in their guns to law enforcement or to have them summarily seized by police.

If you are concerned about protecting yourself and others in your household from an armed person who has a mental illness or substance abuse, our NJ gun lawyers can aid you in the process of obtaining an extreme risk protective order, which requires the person to surrender the guns in their possession and their gun permits. We also defend clients who have been served with temporary extreme risk protective orders and now need to defend their case before a judge at a final ERPO hearing, as we are committed to protecting our clients’ Second Amendment rights in Essex County, Warren County, Sussex County, Monmouth County, Passaic County, and other counties across the state of New Jersey.

Reasons to Call The Tormey Law Firm when You Need Legal Support with a Gun Matter in NJ

Gun safety issues, seizure of your firearms, problems getting a gun permit or appealing a denied permit application, and criminal defense for weapons charges are crucial reasons to confer with our team, which is highly experienced in gun laws and related matters. Consult a lawyer at The Tormey Law Firm today by calling (201)-614-2474 for a free consultation.