Removes capacity limit for ammunition magazines.
Assembly Bill 5128 would eliminate New Jersey’s statutory limit on ammunition magazine capacity. The bill amends the state’s criminal code definitions and weapons provisions so that a “large capacity ammunition magazine” is no longer defined as a magazine holding more than 10 rounds, and the criminal penalties tied to possessing, manufacturing, transporting, selling, or disposing of such magazines are deleted. It also revises the state’s “assault firearm” definition so that a semi-automatic rifle or shotgun is no longer classified as an assault firearm solely because of magazine capacity.
In addition to removing the magazine-capacity restrictions, the bill repeals several 2018 law sections that created related exemptions, registration rules, and law-enforcement-specific provisions tied to the 10-round limit. The measure leaves in place other firearms restrictions in New Jersey law, including prohibitions on assault firearms, machine guns, silencers, bump stocks, trigger cranks, undetectable firearms, and firearms without serial numbers, but it narrows the scope of the magazine-capacity-based offenses and definitions.
The bill would substantially change New Jersey’s firearms statutes by striking the 10-round magazine cap from the criminal code and removing associated offenses and regulatory provisions. It would amend N.J.S.2C:39-1, N.J.S.2C:39-3, N.J.S.2C:39-9, and N.J.S.2C:39-12, and repeal sections of P.L.2018, c.39 that governed the prior magazine-capacity restrictions and related registration/exemption framework. As a result, possession and manufacture of magazines over 10 rounds would no longer be separately criminalized under the provisions targeted by this bill, and semi-automatic firearms would not be deemed assault firearms based only on magazine capacity.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the available context suggests a straightforward pro-firearms-access proposal with no documented legislative debate in the record supplied. The sponsor’s statement frames the bill as a cleanup measure that removes an unnecessary capacity restriction, while the broader statutory changes indicate a significant rollback of existing magazine limits. No opposing or supporting sentiment is captured in the provided transcripts or voting history.
The main point of contention is the policy choice to remove New Jersey’s 10-round magazine limit, which is a core component of the state’s gun-control framework. Supporters would likely argue that the current limit is unnecessary and that the bill simply aligns the law with broader firearm ownership rights, while opponents would likely view the change as weakening public-safety protections and expanding access to higher-capacity magazines. A secondary issue is the bill’s revision of the assault-firearm definition, because removing magazine-capacity triggers could affect how certain semi-automatic rifles and shotguns are regulated under state law.