Under current law, applicants must pay $52.66 to be fingerprinted when applying for a New Jersey Firearm Purchaser ID card or a pistol permit. The permit application itself costs $5. (The handgun permit fee is $2.) Governor Phil Murphy wants to increase the application fee to sixty times the current amount (and have permits expire in four years).
A source close to the Murphy administration has confirmed with NJ2AS that he will be advocating to raise the cost of a firearm identification card to $300 and also raise the cost of a retired law enforcement conceal carry permit to $150. We expect this announcement to occur during his budget address Tuesday afternoon.
Governor Murphy has expressed support to raise the fees in the past. ”It’s hard to believe it’s actually cheaper to get a permit to purchase a handgun, which is $2, than it is to get a dog license in practically any town in our state,” Murphy said at a June 13, 2018, bill signing.
We reached out to Senate Democratic leadership and they decline to comment on speculation.
Historically fees and taxes have been used against minority communities of color to suppress their constitutional rights, such as voting and firearm ownership. Poll taxes were used to prevent minorities and people of color from voting, and laws banning certain types of firearms were enacted to prevent the poor and freed slaves from owning guns.
Alexander Roubian at nj2as.org in Gov Murphy to propose fee increase for firearm permits. Modern day poll tax?
What other constitutional rights do New Jersey residents have to pay to exercise?