ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
01-2-4822 In The Matter Of The Denial Of An Application For A New Jersey Firearms Purchaser Identification Card By L.H., App. Div. (per curiam) (13 pp.) L.H. appeals from the order of the Law Division upholding a municipal police chief’s denial of her application for a New Jersey Firearms Purchaser Identification Card (FPIC) and a handgun purchase permit. L.H.’s application followed the seizure of a loaded shotgun from her home, where it was lying on her bed, and the refusal by the police to return it unless she applied for a FPIC and a handgun permit. In a letter, the Police Chief denied L.H.’s application as being contrary to the “best interest of public health, safety and welfare,” pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:58-3(c)(3) and (5). L.H.’s husband had called the police to the family home on April 9, 2010 and asked them to remove a loaded shotgun from the house. Later that day, the husband called the police and expressed concerns about L.H.’s mental health. When the police arrived in response to the call, L.H. was in an “irrational state.” She assaulted one of the officers, and stated that she would “shoot” her son if he came onto her property. After being transported to a mental health crisis unit, L.H. told the staff that she “hoped” her son would be “scared by the presence of the shotgun.” L.H. was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer as a result of the incident at the house. The appellate panel affirms without prejudice to L.H.’s right to reapply for a FPIC and handgun permit in the future, based on her circumstances at the time of that application.
