Nation: NEW JERSEY'S MODEL GUN LAW

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A TOUGH, comprehensive gun-control law enacted in New Jersey 22 months ago might well serve as a model for federal action. Chapter 151 of the Revised New Jersey Statutes requires that all owners or would-be owners of firearms have an identification card, involving fingerprinting and a character investigation. A criminal record, narcotics addiction, alcoholism, mental illness or a physical handicap that would impair proficiency with a gun are all grounds for withholding the card. The police may also reject "any person where the issuance would not be in the interest of the public health, safety or welfare"—a catchall designed to keep weapons from going to individuals with long records of disorderly-conduct arrests but no convictions. Rejection on such grounds can be challenged in a county court.

Owners of rifles and shotguns must be 18, and need only the basic I.D. Those who would pack a pistol or revolver must also be at least 18, and need two additional permits (total cost: $5) to purchase and carry a handgun. Retailers must keep complete records of long-arm sales and must forward records of handgun sales to police.

Of 89,500 requests for firearm permits under the law, 1,600 have been denied. A number of the refusals are being appealed. In addition, the state supreme court is hearing two challenges to the law's constitutionality. In one, the Monmouth County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is contesting a provision that makes membership in a "subversive" organization grounds for denying an I.D. card or a purchase permit. In the other, the law is being questioned on the grounds that it abridges the right to bear arms and interferes with interstate commerce.