Originally Posted by
MAP
I posted this on another board concerning this arrest:
The laws in NJ concerning LEOs having privately owned "assault weapons" are interpreted differently by each county Court. Listed as exempt from the "Assault Weapon" ban is:
"A regularly employed member, including a detective, of the police department of any county or municipality, or of any State, interstate, municipal or county park police force or boulevard police force, at all times while in the State of New Jersey" NJSA 2C:39-6(7) (a)
Some Courts in NJ have held the LEOs can have "Assault Weapons" while others have allowed charges to proceed. In the 1990s a sitting State Attorney General directed that no LEO would be prosecuted for possession of an "Assault Weapon" until the legislature clarified the Statute. No clarification ever took place.
While I personally believe that possession of an semi-auto rifle, regardless of features, is protected under the 2nd Amendment, this officer will have a long haul to clear his name.
Mike