New Jersey Township Zoning Change Effectively Bans Gun Stores

June 14, 2018 – Considered the first of its kind in New Jersey, the Piscataway Township Council this evening passed an ordinance prohibiting the retail sale of firearms or ammunition within 1,000 feet of sensitive locations. The ordinance was authored by Ward 3 Councilmember Steve Cahn, an attorney and former U.S. Marine captain.

Under the measure, retail sales would be banned near schools, day care sites, college campuses, medical facilities, bars, parks, places of worship and similar sites.

“The federal government has been willingly absent on the epidemic of gun violence,” Councilmember Cahn said. “With a president and congressional majority abhorrently mired in demagoguery, it is left to states and local governments to protect our residents, so we acted.”

Cahn’s initiative complements the six state bills recently signed into law by Governor Phil Murphythat will also help stem the tide of gun violence. Cahn attended the signing ceremony in Trenton yesterday.

To promote the ordinance, Piscataway Township hosted a press conference in late May at which Rep.Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.spoke about proactive federal legislation including the Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2018, Cahn and Mayor Brian C. Wahler spoke about the local ordinance, and Senator Bob Smith and Bill Castner, Governor Phil Murphy’s Senior Advisor on Firearms, spoke about the meaningful gun reform legislation at the state level.

Piscataway Township has approximately 56,000 residents.  According to Guns.com,  the council believes this ordinance will save lives.  But the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs sent a legal letter to the council, advising them that they will begin litigation should the zoning change pass. It passed.