Gov. Murphy Signs Handgun Liability Insurance Requirement into Law

As the number of mass shooting events has grown, so have concerns over general gun safety control. Exactly how much control a state may assert over its citizens and their guns is a topic of hot debate. Gun control measures in multiple states have been criticized by pro-gun groups or even struck down entirely for being unconstitutional. For example, in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022), the Supreme Court ruled that New York’s requirement for citizens to demonstrate a particular need for self-defense in order to receive a permit to carry a handgun in public violated both the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. Not all such measures, however, have fallen flat.

In October 2022, we wrote about a gun safety bill from the New Jersey Senate that, in reaction to the Bruen decision, proposed an additional insurance requirement for state citizens with a concealed-carry permit. That bill, adopted by the New Jersey Senate on December 5, was signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy on December 22, 2022. The new law includes the following: