Bill
S 4265
expands child access prevention and broadens “community gun” liability to family/household transfers, with harsher penalties and stricter storage requirements.
Note on bill text: The metadata at the top of your submission lists a title about lead‑based paint disclosure, but the full bill text provided (Print 4265A / S4265) is a New Jersey criminal‑law amendment concerning firearms, “community guns,” and child access to firearms. This summary describes the firearms bill text you provided.
Summary — S4265 (Print No. 4265A) — Amendments re: community guns and child access to firearms
Purpose and intent
- Strengthen New Jersey’s child access prevention law and expand criminal liability tied to firearms used by minors.
- Broaden the statutory “community gun” concept to include family and household transfers and to capture criminal use by any holder (jointly or individually).
- Increase penalties to deter unsafe storage and negligent facilitation of minor access to firearms.
Key provisions and changes
- Amends N.J.S.2C:39‑4 (possession of weapons for unlawful purposes):
- Revises the “community gun” definition to expressly include firearms transferred among, between, or within any family or household of two or more persons.
- Clarifies that criminal activity by holders of a community gun may be carried out jointly or individually.
- Maintains that possessing, receiving, or transferring a community gun is a second‑degree crime and (in the text) requires a term of imprisonment including a mandatory minimum: the minimum is set at one‑half of the sentence imposed by the court or three years, whichever is greater, during which the defendant is ineligible for parole.
- Amends the child access prevention statute (P.L.1991, c.397; C.2C:58‑15):
- Expands coverage to firearms improperly stored at premises or in motor vehicles under a person’s control.
- Removes the requirement that the firearm be loaded.
- Raises the protected minor’s age from under 16 to under 18 (i.e., “minor” = under 18).
- Upgrades the baseline offense from a disorderly persons offense to a crime of the third degree when a minor gains access to the firearm.
- Retains explicit exceptions where the person is the lawful owner and has stored the firearm in a securely locked box/container, stored it in a location a reasonable person would believe to be secure, or secured it with a trigger lock.
- Adds that if a minor gains access and while possessing the firearm engages in criminal activity or uses it unlawfully, the firearm shall be deemed a “community gun,” and the person whose violation facilitated access shall be guilty of a second‑degree offense under the community‑gun provision.
Penalties (as noted in the bill’s statement)
- Third‑degree crime: imprisonment 3–5 years, fine up to $15,000, or both.
- Second‑degree crime: imprisonment 5–10 years, fine up to $150,000, or both.
- The bill text also specifies a mandatory minimum parole‑ineligible term tied to community‑gun convictions (see above).
Who is affected
- Firearm owners and lawful owners who store weapons in homes or motor vehicles.
- Parents, guardians, household members, family members, and others who control premises or vehicles where minors could access firearms.
- Individuals who possess, receive, or transfer firearms among family/household members that are later used criminally by any holder.
- Law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsel, and courts applying amended statutes.
- Minors (definition changed to under age 18) and victims of crimes committed with firearms that were negligently accessible.
Procedural status and timeline
- Introduced in the Senate: March 17, 2025; referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.
- Subsequent actions: Amend and recommit to Judiciary (6/5/2025); printed as 4265A (6/5/2025).
- Effective date specified in the bill: immediately upon enactment.
Sponsors and related legislation
- Primary sponsor: Sen. Brian Kavanagh (with many cosponsors listed).
- Companions/related measures: A5443, A1529 (companions); prior‑session bills S2142, S2353, S8830.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Expands criminal exposure for adults whose firearms are accessed by minors; stronger deterrence toward safer storage practices.
- Increases prosecutorial tools to charge adults whose firearms become instruments of crimes committed by minors.
- The mandatory minimum for community‑gun convictions may raise sentencing severity and parole implications.
- Broadening to motor vehicles and to under‑18 minors widens the statute’s reach; retained safe‑storage exceptions preserve defenses where owners take specified precautions.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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