Posted on 01/14/2009 9:10:02 PM PST by Coleus
When Matthew Sweetwood agreed to surrender his handguns and purchaser identification card 11 years ago after he and his wife filed domestic violence complaints and sought restraining orders against each other, the Millburn resident never thought it would take more than a decade to get them back. Yesterday, the state Supreme Court granted him the opportunity to regain his right to own a gun.
The court said a 2004 law that prevents someone from buying or possessing a firearm if other weapons were seized or surrendered under a domestic violence prevention act would not necessarily bar Sweetwood from purchasing or owning a handgun. In the unanimous ruling, the court said Sweetwood is entitled to a hearing if the Essex County Prosecutor's Office denies him the ID card or ownership of a weapon.
A spokesman for the prosecutor said a decision on such a hearing is under review. The office has 30 days to decide. The case began in 1997 when Sweetwood and his wife filed domestic violence charges and ob tained restraining orders against each other in the prelude to a contentious divorce. Sweetwood, a 45-year-old father of six and owner of a photography supply business in Fairfield, had to forfeit five handguns, which he was allowed to sell to a dealer, and his firearms identi fication card, which was kept by Millburn police.
The domestic violence charges were dismissed days after they were lodged and the restraining order against Sweetwood was lifted in 2000, with his wife's approval, just before the couple's divorce became final. But when Sweetwood sought the return of the identification card in 2005, the prosecutor's office re fused, arguing that he was not entitled to purchase firearms under the 2004 gun control law because the weapons he had surrendered were never returned to him.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
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What’s a purchaser identification card?
FOID card
Lovely, eh?
I wonder how much his legal fees were? Due process works good for those who have enough money to work with legal fees. However a lot of people would be denied due process because of financial hardship. One battle won, still a war to fight.
A purchaser identification card, or what’s known in NJ as a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card is a document that allows NJ residents to purchase long rifles, or shotguns in the state. Checks are done, and the NJ State Police retains records of the sale. Basically a mandatory registration of firearms if you will. Unconstitutional in my opinion, but most of the firearm laws in NJ don’t pass constitutional muster anyway.
wow! How about throw the rule out?
New Jersey??
That state and that court are corrupt beyond measure. There is definitely more to this story than we will ever know.
Somebody paid somebody.
Like a different world from the Dakotas.
You have to apply for a permit for each handgun. When applying for an FID the first time, you can apply for hangun permits at the same time. I did. Each subsequent handgun permit will take several weeks to obtain and is only valid for 90 days. They cost $2.
Getting an FID requires fingerprinting, criminal background check, personal reference checks and a mental health background check. You cannot have any violence, domestic or otherwise, no alcohol issues and have never been institutionalized for anything. Legally this process is required to be completed in 30 days. Typically it takes 3 months.
Yes, it's a load of horse manure. I could have pretty much any gun I want in a 48 hours or less. These laws only penalize law abiding folks like me.
We’ve had FOID cards in Illinois for years.
Why continue to reside in NJ?
Besides my spouse's family residing here, I don't imagine I'd make anywhere near what I'm making somewhere else. Once the rat maze is navigated you're set. Can't have any scary looking guns, but the same caliber in non scary looking work just as well.
My only question is, why did this guy wait until 2005 to get his guns back??
My only question is, why did this guy wait until 2005 to get his guns back?? >>>
I’m not to sure about that, but I can surmise that after a divorce he had to get his private and social life together and probably had to save up some money to hire his legal team. Or maybe he didn’t think he could get his guns back until he was told otherwise. It may not have been his first priority.
See, that's the thing. My family lives in Ohio. They pay the same for cars, fuel, consumer items(TVs, Guns, etc.) services(cable, electric, internet, heat), most food stuff except things produced locally(milk, some veggies, etc.). The differences I see are car insurance and housing. My car insurance doubled when I moved to Jersey but the difference is maybe $600. My yearly taxes are $3300 and while cheap for Jersey isn't much more than the rest of the country.
I don't think the income trade off would make it equal. I more than doubled what I was making when I moved to NJ and my expenses went up under 10%.
I don't like the gun policies, the idiotic laws, the land use rules, etc. of this state but I tolerate it for family considerations and pay. If I lose my job, all bets are off. She can go live with her parents ;).
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