Have an illegal gun, lose your buildingIf passed into law, a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Louis Manzo (D-31st Dist.) would impose the same strict penalties on people caught with illegal guns as those possessing illegal drugs.
The bill would authorize the forfeiture of any motor vehicle, building, or premise in which a firearm was unlawfully possessed.
"If we will do this when someone is caught with illegal drugs, it only makes sense that we should do it for when someone has an illegal weapon," Manzo said during an interview.
Under current law, forfeiture actions are limited to contraband and property used to further unlawful activity.
Manzo's bill would expand the law to allow law enforcement officials to seize a vehicle, building, or premise if the firearm is found within it, even if the weapon is not possessed by the owner.
"We currently allow this to take place when illegal drugs are found. This is to keep a landlord or someone driving the car from turning a blind eye to the drugs people in an apartment or passenger in the car is doing," he said. "I think if a landlord knows there is an illegal gun in the house, he or she should do something about it. And this may encourage someone driving a car to keep a person from carrying a gun."
Under this law, an unlicensed machine gun, handgun, rifle, or shotgun are considered illegal.
Manzo said although he was very pleased with the gun buyback program that was recently conducted in Jersey City, he said his legislation would put pressure on those who knowingly harbor people with weapons or do nothing.
This would not punish innocent people, he said, but could be imposed on those locations or vehicles where people are aware of a problem and do nothing to solve it.
"This is one more tool that law enforcement can use in an effort to do away with illegal weapons," he said. "Unlike the buyback program, this doesn't cost the taxpayers money to get rid of illegal guns.
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