Reader question, asked August 2025
Short answer: A5958 was introduced in July 2025. It would have added elected officials and their chiefs of staff to the people exempt from New Jersey’s unlawful-weapon-possession statute, the same list police are on.
The details
- Sponsors were Assemblymen Robert Auth and Gregory Myhre. The exemption covers N.J.S.2C:39-5, the law that makes possessing a gun without the right permit or ID card a crime.
- It didn’t become law in the 2024 to 2025 session. A similar bill, A572, was filed for the 2026 to 2027 session. That version requires Police Training Commission training and yearly qualification.
- Supporters say elected officials face real threats and need to be able to protect themselves.
- Critics on the gun-rights side say officials shouldn’t carve themselves out of rules everyone else has to follow. Others oppose expanding exemptions at all.
- Check the New Jersey Legislature website for the bill’s current status.
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